bad nursing care rant

sdifhaseuifhaeuifhaeui!

Just went with a friend to visit her dad in the hospital. i couldnt believe the conditions there, i was pretty disgusted. we walk in and there is a soiled brief on the floor, his gown is soaked in urine, we had to physically go to the nurses station and ask for someone to come clean him up. He told us he almost fell twice because he was ringing the call bell for help to go to the bedside commode and no one came both times. mind you, this is in an ICU. So I am assuming the nurse: pt ratio is 2:1, MAYBE 3:1 max.. And the girl who finally came in to clean him was wearing an ID badge that said pca, so they had at least one aide..

how is this acceptable? I've never been to this hospital before, and I have heard bad things about it, but seriously? I've never seen anything that bad in the hospitals I've done clinical at, especially on my ICU rotations. Those nurses were usually pretty anal about keeping everything clean, and answering call bells etc. And never have I seen a dirty brief left on the floor, thats just gross.

My friend was pretty upset by this herself. Shes upset enough that her dad is sick enough to be in the ICU, and then to see all this didnt make it any better..

Are we overreacting? sorry for the angry anecdote, just wanted to vent to some people who knew what i was talking about. I told her that if it is possible, she should see about getting him transferred to a better hospital. :heartbeat
are you a nurse?

pca and nursing student..

Quote from roma4204are you a nurse?

Student nurse.Are you positive you didn't walk in right after a code(s) had taken place or some other emergency that superseded getting to your friend's father sooner?

The first thing that comes to my mind is what the nurses and PCA's had going on besides the unfortunate situation you described. When you become a nurse you will realize just how complicated things can get. I hope to God no nurse wishes to leave a patient in a bad condition...but as much as you learn in nursing school they still don't teach you how to be in two places at once.

Quote from ChristineN Regardless of title, I agree that it does sound unacceptable and barring an emergency going on (which I'm sure you're aware CAN happen in ICU quite frequently), that he should not have been left like that.

Also I don't know how many times I have had a patient tell me the light was on "for a half an hour" when I literally see it go on for about two minutes while I'm in another room. Not saying this was the case, but when you're sick enough to be in the ICU you can get confused about time.

Quote from roma4204Also I don't know how many times I have had a patient tell me the light was on "for a half an hour" when I literally see it go on for about two minutes while I'm in another room. Not saying this was the case, but when you're sick enough to be in the ICU you can get confused about time.

i was looking to point out the other possibilities of why something like that would happen. it is a self titled rant about "nursing" care...i would like to give my professional peers the benefit of the doubt.

Quote from roma4204Also I don't know how many times I have had a patient tell me the light was on "for a half an hour" when I literally see it go on for about two minutes while I'm in another room. Not saying this was the case, but when you're sick enough to be in the ICU you can get confused about time.

then totally go with your gut and say something! transferring to another hospital probably isn't the answer and can get very complicated, but if it wasn't a one time thing i would bring it up with the charge nurse right away

May I RESPECTFULLY ask why did your friend not complain there and then to the NUM or whoever is in charge? I get a little pee'd off at people coming on here saying this and that is JUST NOT RIGHT!...but they never seem to do anything about it, then they keep returning to AN complaining of the same or similar things once again.If that was my Dad, I would have demanded answers there and then, and I wouldn't have left until he was cleaned up to my satisfaction. I would have asked for an explanation and voiced my objections in a confrontational manner, until I was given the answers.I would suggest strongly to your friend to document the whole incident and demand answers. There isn't much point in venting to us when your friend hasn't done anything about the situation. Maybe as a nursing student, you too could complain re what you have witnessed too? Also it's a good lesson in how NOT to nurse people.