my mother had triple bypass surgery last week, and now has pneumonia.
im writing this blog post as i sit next to my Mother in the hospital, as she sleeps.
i have been here with her most of the week.
everyone keeps telling me over and over again how great and renown this hospital is…………lemme tell you, i am NOT impressed.
most of the nurses are as sensitive as a door nail.
there are several doctors involved……..the surgeon, the cardiologist, the doctor from the insurance group…..and they dont seem to communicate with each other too often.
we are asked by the nursing staff everyday “who is your doctor?”……..dont they know this information already?
there is so much miscommunication.
todays example goes like this:
doctor #1 tells us that Mother will be discharged tomorrow.
nurse comes in and says Mother will be discharged today.
15 minutes later, nurse then says Mother will be discharged tomorrow.
home health care representative comes in and says Mother will be discharged tomorrow.
doctor #2 walks in and says Mother will be discharged today.
i ask doctor #2 if he has communicated with doctor #1, and he says “no”.
doctor #2 agrees to discharge Mother tomorrow.
pharmacy representative calls and says Mother is to be discharged today.
i tell him that we were told tomorrow….sort of.
this is just one example of the daily confusion based on non communication.
the other day my Mother was taken downstairs for xrays, and about 20 minutes later, our nurse walked in and asked where my Mother was. doesnt she know? doesnt the xray department tell the nurses they are taking a patient?
when my Mother was being xrayed, the xray tech asked my Mother why she was in the hospital. doesnt he know? why is he giving an xray if he doesnt even know what surgery has been done to the patient?
when my Mother returned to the room, another nurse came in and said my Mother would be taken downstairs for xrays later. i asked her why, since she just had xrays. once again, the nurse didnt know she already had the xrays.
other continual questions and issues:
nurses ask “what meds are you taking”……..dont they know? they are the people giving the meds.
nurses ask when was the last time pain meds were given. dont they know? isnt it their job to keep track of such things.
nurses normally take over 5 minutes to answer when they are called…..when they do come, they dont always listen……or, they say they will come back and they never do. sometimes, they dont come at all.
the other night, “Dancing With the Stars” was on TV. at the same time, it was time for my Mother to have her scheduled pain meds. long story short, we had to wait for “Dancing With the Stars” to be over, because the entire staff was busy watching the TV.
the list goes on and on.
im aware that some issues are bound to happen…..of course. thats life.
and i am aware that the staff is overworked, and underpaid.
but, i didnt expect the mishaps to be this frequent and this blatant.
once again, i am told over and over again how great of a center this place is.
id hate to see a bad center.
and i hope to never end up here.
not because of some noble cause, or a deep inner commitment to health.
rather, im afraid of the “system” here and the overall lack of communication that is so apparent with each passing minute i sit by my Mother’s bedside.
