You have got to be kidding right?

[SeaCat]

I have had a written complaint lodged against me by a patient and his family members. My boss will be seeing this tomorrow and I'm sure I'll be hearing about it. It will be interesting to hear what her comments are.

The patient is a rather large white male. He is suffering from Cancer and medical issues due to the treatment regimen he is going through. Issues like Incontinence of both Urine and Feces. He has open and running sores infected with both M.R.S.A. and Herpes. He is however allowed to leave the floor for the reasons of smoking. He is an absolute slob. His room is a mess and he refuses to allow it to be cleaned up. (There are things like food wrappers, half eaten meals and half filled coffee cups scattered throughout the room as well as dirty linens. The room stinks.) He also refuses to bathe. The sloppiness and the refusal to bathe are not from his medical condition though, they seem to be ingrained in him as the rest of his family is just as bad. All of them are rather more than verbally abusive, they routinely threaten staff members with violence.

This morning he was assigned to me. When I walked into his room the stench nearly took my breath away. When he saw me he immediatly demanded that a female take care of him. I informed him that no one else was willing to care for him, his actions had seen to that. I also informed him that he would be getting into the shower and he would bathe. Oh he didn't like that in the least.

Within an hour he had been bathed. I had him in the shower for more than half an hour and he had bathed three times before I could stand to be near him. While this was going on all of the trash in his room was removed and disposed of. His bed was changed and the dirty linens removed from the room. Oh he called me every name in the book and then he made a few of them up.

Half an hour after I had finished with him his M.D. showed up and went into the room. When he walked out he looked me up and informed me that he didn't know how I had done it but I needed to keep it up. I told him to put that in writing.

Around noon the patients family came in and went into the room. Soon after they were complaining to the Charge Nurse about the treatment the patient had received that morning. I had violated his rights. A short time later the patients wife spotted me in the hallway and informed me her husband had run out of smokes and she wanted me to go across the street and buy him some more. I told her that I was a bit too busy at the moment to do so but if she waited a bit I might be able to get a volunteer to come up to get the money and buy the smokes. She looked at me in surprise when I mentioned money and went off on me. She told me that because I made so much money it was part of my duties as a care giver to buy him what he needed for his confort, including his smokes. I told her that this was news to me and then wewnt off to answer another call.

Well this evening the Charge Nurse received the written complaint. In this complaint I had violated the patients rights by forcing him to wash and by cleaning out his room thereby forcing him to conform to standareds he didn't believe in. Also by my telling him he wouldn't be allowed to wander the halls with his open sores uncovered I was restricting his rights of free movement.

The complaint went on to state that I was abusive on two counts. My refusal to purchase the smokes for him was denying him the comfort and mental well being he needed while in the hospital. My removal of the coffee cups and food trays was denying him the mental well being of being in a comforting and familiar environment.

It should be interesting to hear how my boss reacts to this one.

Nursing can be an adventure.

Cat

 

[cantdog]

This is unusually cogent complaining, cat. Mostly they'll just curse you out. Is it the wife with the legalistic turn of mind, do you think?

 

[jomar]

Sounds like he should be on the med/psych unit.

 

[john-the-author]

Boy howdy, Cat, that whole family sounds like a piece of work together, don't they? **YOU** should buy him smokes on **YOUR** nickel? "Fuck, no!" doesn't even BEGIN to cover it.

(And where does the connection between "treated for cancer" and "smoking" come into play here?)

 

[john-the-author]

Sounds like he should be on the med/psych unit.

I like that. The MRSA does sound like him walking around without appropriate coverage on the sores and so on is a medical issue.

 

[Stella_Omega]

That's... amazing. And aren't we all glad these people don't live next door to us!

 

[Handley_Page]

I hope that someone very senior is able to point out that medical treatment requires a clean regime in which to operate and that you did the job you had to.
It may also help to point out that MRSA and sores can spread something nasty to fellow patients and that would infringe THEIR rights.

Your rights do not include getting him some smokes (I'm surprised it is permitted anywhere nearby).

Everyone has the right not to be assaulted by his attitude to soap and general cleanliness.

Ps. Any chance of booting the fellow out ?

 

[DesertPirate]

My Dad told me about a guy who had the cleanliness problem onboard ship in WWII. It was solved with a "group scrubbing" using canvas and sand, with a salt water rinse.
Someone was a nice shade of pink when it was over.

A cook tried the same attitude on a Submarine in the late 70's, no canvas, no sand
Greenies (scotchbrite) work just as good

This might be a case of someone bringing MRSA in with them if his home is like his room was

 

[JagFarlane]

My Dad told me about a guy who had the cleanliness problem onboard ship in WWII. It was solved with a "group scrubbing" using canvas and sand, with a salt water rinse.
Someone was a nice shade of pink when it was over.

A cook tried the same attitude on a Submarine in the late 70's, no canvas, no sand
Greenies (scotchbrite) work just as good

This might be a case of someone bringing MRSA in with them if his home is like his room was

-snikers- Ah yes....mandatory cleaning in the Navy. Keel-hauling anyone?

 

[DesertPirate]

-snikers- Ah yes....mandatory cleaning in the Navy. Keel-hauling anyone?

Sanitation is very important to health and morale

 

[JagFarlane]

Sanitation is very important to health and morale

...and a good idea unless you plan to have cans of Axe with the tops broken off thrown in your rack, or be sprayed liberally with Febreeze, or random buckets of soapy water thrown on you....

 

[DesertPirate]

...and a good idea unless you plan to have cans of Axe with the tops broken off thrown in your rack, or be sprayed liberally with Febreeze, or random buckets of soapy water thrown on you....

The ones doing the scrubbing had fun and everyone enjoyed the fact that all his posessions ended up in the shower with him, including the fart sack. Made everything smell better

For non military:
fart sack - removable mattress cover

 

[SeaCat]

Well I was called into the office this morning soon after the boss showed up. She wanted to know what had happened before she gave me a written reprimand. I explained the situation and provided documentation to back up my argument. She listened to me then made a phone call while sliding my write up into the shredder.

Soon after the C.N.O. of the Hospital, the Patients M.D., the Infectious Disease Doctor and the Charge Nurse were sitting in her office listening to what had happened and why. Soon after a new care plan had been drawn up, looked over and approved. This care plan was then carried to the patients room and explained to him and his family members in attendance.

It was explained that their actions were endangering not only the patient but the other patients in the hospital and they would follow the care plan to the letter if they wished the patient to continue to receive care in the hospital. If they didn't they would be asked to leave. They were also informed that the staff of the hospital was not under any conditions to buy anything for them out of their own pockets.

The threat of a lawsuit was raised once more by the mother and the C.N.O. informed her that the entire family had opened themselves up for a lawsuit by their actions.

For the rest of the day the patient and his family were very sullen but very conformist in their actions. We shall see just how long this lasts.

Cat

Oh I did receive a well done from the group for my actions.

 

[incubus666]

The ones doing the scrubbing had fun and everyone enjoyed the fact that all his posessions ended up in the shower with him, including the fart sack. Made everything smell better

For non military:
fart sack - removable mattress cover

DP I think you just dated yourself. I though I was the only one on this board old enough to remember "Fart Sacks".

That and airing bedding. Where you took your mattress and blankets topside and strung them over the life lines to air out for several hours.

Mike S.
U.S.N.
6/19/56-10/31/80

 

[DesertPirate]

DP I think you just dated yourself. I though I was the only one on this board old enough to remember "Fart Sacks".

That and airing bedding. Where you took your mattress and blankets topside and strung them over the life lines to air out for several hours.

Mike S.
U.S.N.
6/19/56-10/31/80

MM2(SS) 76-80
USS Silversides SSN 679

 

[DesertPirate]

Well I was called into the office this morning soon after the boss showed up. She wanted to know what had happened before she gave me a written reprimand. I explained the situation and provided documentation to back up my argument. She listened to me then made a phone call while sliding my write up into the shredder.

Soon after the C.N.O. of the Hospital, the Patients M.D., the Infectious Disease Doctor and the Charge Nurse were sitting in her office listening to what had happened and why. Soon after a new care plan had been drawn up, looked over and approved. This care plan was then carried to the patients room and explained to him and his family members in attendance.

It was explained that their actions were endangering not only the patient but the other patients in the hospital and they would follow the care plan to the letter if they wished the patient to continue to receive care in the hospital. If they didn't they would be asked to leave. They were also informed that the staff of the hospital was not under any conditions to buy anything for them out of their own pockets.

The threat of a lawsuit was raised once more by the mother and the C.N.O. informed her that the entire family had opened themselves up for a lawsuit by their actions.

For the rest of the day the patient and his family were very sullen but very conformist in their actions. We shall see just how long this lasts.

Cat

Oh I did receive a well done from the group for my actions.

Glad to hear that some supervisors have a bit of intelligence

 

[john-the-author]

Well I was called into the office this morning soon after the boss showed up. She wanted to know what had happened before she gave me a written reprimand. I explained the situation and provided documentation to back up my argument. She listened to me then made a phone call while sliding my write up into the shredder.

Soon after the C.N.O. of the Hospital, the Patients M.D., the Infectious Disease Doctor and the Charge Nurse were sitting in her office listening to what had happened and why. Soon after a new care plan had been drawn up, looked over and approved. This care plan was then carried to the patients room and explained to him and his family members in attendance.

It was explained that their actions were endangering not only the patient but the other patients in the hospital and they would follow the care plan to the letter if they wished the patient to continue to receive care in the hospital. If they didn't they would be asked to leave. They were also informed that the staff of the hospital was not under any conditions to buy anything for them out of their own pockets.

The threat of a lawsuit was raised once more by the mother and the C.N.O. informed her that the entire family had opened themselves up for a lawsuit by their actions.

For the rest of the day the patient and his family were very sullen but very conformist in their actions. We shall see just how long this lasts.

Cat

Oh I did receive a well done from the group for my actions.

Great support from your mgmt. I'm pleased for you.

 

[Trinique_Fire]

Do they happen to come from Dogpatch, USA?

His name wouldn't be Earthquake Lagoon, would it?