rest in chaos.
By impactEDnurse • Jan 29th, 2007 • Category: piss and vinegar
One of the many frustrating and dis-graceful results of access block is the inability to transfer dying patients to a more peaceful and appropriate environment.
Today we had a 53 year old mother of three who had metastatic lung cancer. She had been managing quite well at home with her family when she suddenly collapsed in respiratory arrest.
She was septic and in multi-system failure. It was time for her to die.
With her family at the bedside she was extubated and we made her as comfortable as humanly possible while she prepared for death.
As we needed the resuscitation beds for incoming, and as there were no empty beds available in the hospital, she remained in the noisy chaos of the ED. On one side a demented lady with a broken leg screamed that the nurses were trying to kill her. Across the room a choir of bleating babies. Over there, an aggressive girl spouting profanities.
Her family sat in a tight huddle around the bed in prayer.
She is still waiting for a bed. Her death in the ED will be one more tiny, hidden, tragedy.
[ this sort of thing happens all the time. I have written before on one such experience that haunts me still. Read it and weep.]
impactEDnurse is also known as Ian Miller, a nurse with over 26 years experience working in a busy emergency department in, Australia. This site in no way reflects the opinions of that hospital.
All stories (although based on actual experiences) have been changed to protect patient confidentiality.
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Devastating situation.
Was there any possibility of her returning home?
No clinic that had an empty bay?
A corner of the PACU that could be curtained off?
Close the chapel/quiet room and go there? (I know – no nurse availability – how about the chief nurse officer go and sit? Even the rustiest nurse could do that and offer support)
Been there and done that. I’m so sorry for all of you – nurses, patient and family alike.
You’ve put into words a sad situation we have all faced. It is disgusting. Any hospital that allows these situations to develop should be strongly sanctioned right where it hurts, in the pocket book. Unfortunately with the aging of our nurses and the impending nursing shortage it is only going to get worse. I don’t know how it is where you are but here in the states they estimate 20% of nursing positions will be unfilled in the next 10 to 15 years and despite predictions our plan to deal with this is to stick our heads in the sand and pretend we are Scarlett O’hara (I’ll think about that tomorrow)
It should not happen but it does and for those of us that are able to cry then we know that the system has not depleted our will to try better.
Unfortunately I cant say I have never seen it. . . its why I decided to change from porter to nurse, to help those in need and preserve a bit of their dignity.
The one problem with the NHS is it is abused, people who think they are ill block beds for people who are ill.