Stephanie (miss_sassy) wrote in bad_service,
Stephanie
miss_sassy
bad_service

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Dear Assorted Hospital Staff:

When patients - especially patients who are my Mom, because I love her and want her to be taken care of - arrive to be registered and are OBVIOUSLY writhing in pain and screaming, don't sit there and bicker with your shift-mate because they were "off talking to their BFF down in radiology". I get it, you're mad, they suck, but my Mother is SCREAMING and BEGGING to be given pain meds, so don't take your fucking time with this whole registration thing. Save your co-worker drama until after my Mom is in a room and being cared for.

Perhaps more importantly, don't get all offended and annoyed when my Mom angrily asks, "Do I need to go to a different hospital?" You're not doing your job properly, she has a right to wonder if her medical care is going to continue in this manner. Don't want questions and anger? Don't be an idiot at registration.

Definitely more importantly, don't let your patient and her daughter sit in your ER for 12 hours while you, quote, "look for a bed upstairs". That's not what you were doing, and I know you weren't because I heard you talking with the nurse who tried to come in and take the same blood again. You were waiting for that blood to be drawn, and it had been drawn HOURS before. Why aren't you paying attention???

While we're on the whole paying attention thing, when the patient and her daughter tell you that you already took that blood sample, don't get uppity and threaten to send the septic patient home because she "refused treatment". You already took that sample. Run your damn tests and give her a damn bed so she can rest.

Don't give her insulin and then leave forever. Give her some fucking food so she doesn't crash. You're lucky her sugar is sky-high or you could have killed her.

The patient shouldn't have to wait two days for a clean gown. There's puke in her pocket, you fuck, get her a damn gown.

I seem to recall her doctor saying she needed her antibiotics. I also seem to recall telling you, TWICE, that she needed her meds and asking when they'd be here. I recall you telling me you were waiting for the order to come in. I also recall her calling me, 3 AND A HALF HOURS LATER, to tell me that when the night nurse came on, she was PANICKED because the patient had a dry IV bag and NO ANTIBIOTICS. In fact, idiot, you didn't even fucking order the damn things, or the tests the doctor wanted her to have. 5 hours after I left the hospital, she finally has a new IV bag and her medications and a snack. And by the way? While you were off doing whatever the hell you were doing, she's gone back to feeling like shit. Thanks for letting her infection get another good foothold, you little shit.

I hope you lose your job and never find another one in the medical field.

Sincerly,
The Patient's Furious Daughter

EDIT:

Apparently, in Mom's semi-delerium last night, I got some mis-information. The nurse DID NOT tell her he was giving her pain meds. Mom knew she was being given insulin, but there is still an issue of him just leaving her afterwards when everyone was aware that she could easily crash because they weren't sure of how much to give her. They are trying to lower her sugar and he left her without food or drink and didn't bring her anything despite her numorous calls and requests for a snack/pain meds/a clean gown. He did give her pain medication while I was there with her, telling her to "let him know if that worked", but he disappeared for the night, pretty much, despite her calling and asking for more.

The reason I mis-understood Mom, besides the fact that I've probably gotten 8 hours of sleep in the last three days, Mom's medication and illness-induced fogs and me seeing TOTAL red when she called me last night to tell about the issues with her meds is: while Bad Nurse DID give her insulin and DID tell her it was insulin, he DID NOT give her other medications that he said he gave her on her chart. Therefore, last night, some medications were not administered because the Good Nurse was unsure as to what Mom got and how much. These medications included, at the very least, more pain medication and a blood thinner to prevent clots.

Sorry for reporting mis-information. It's still awful service and I'd still like to see Bad Nurse fired, shot out of a cannon, and severly talked to, not neccesarily in that order.

EDIT PART DEUX:

Bad Nurse is not working with my Mom anymore. The Night Nurse came on last night and was in a total tizzy over how he left his patients yesterday. She filed a complaint and my Mother did too. He has been taken care of. I dunno if he got fired, suspended, put somewhere else, etc, but the important thing (for me, at this moment, anyways) is that my Mom and his other patients are going to have a shot at better care.

Her kidney function is down around 20%, down from 60% when she got there. I'm not sure if this is because she didn't get her antibiotics when she was supposed to, or if it's just part of her being sick. I do know she was told yesterday that she was "getting better" and that they were "moving in the right direction" in terms of treatment, so I will be asking about the decreased kidney function when I go in today. If It has anything to do with her antibiotics being late, they're going to have to deal with Mom and I and more of our anger. 

Thank you so much for all the support. This has been very difficult for me and my family and it's heartwarming to see that I haven't picked any un-due fights or been unreasonable about what kind of care I want for her. I will pass along the well wishes and I'll keep you guys posted!

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