***** ~ A Show Of Force ~ *****

For the safety and guaranteed quick response to different situations in the hospital we have what are called 'codes'. We have Code 5 for aggressive patients, Code Pink for a missing newborn, Code 99 for a pt in resperitory distress, you get the picture. We have personnel who volunteer to receive training in each situation so they can be called when needed.

Let me set the scene last night:

There was a patient with mental health issues in one of the rooms. The room was being 'guarded' or watched by one of our security personnel. This patient decided she no longer wanted to be in the hospital and was going to leave. This is not allowed, especially if the patient is there on what is called a psych hold. They must be monitored until the Dr feels they are not a risk to themselves or others, or they are admitted to our mental health unit.

The Dr on last night and two or three personnel from the floor had gone over into the new ER to check it out. There is no paging system set up in there as of yet.

We have limited staff on the floor at night as generally we don't need them.

This patient attempted to leave her room and met resistance with the security guard. This was seen by a couple of the nursing staff in the ER and they went to assist. As one of the nurses was going into the room she yelled out to call a Code 5. (Aggressive Patient)

The Unit Secretary was one of the CNA's who had been trained (so she told me) to do the Unit Secretary job. She picked up the radio and called security and informed them we had a Code 5. Correct procedure. She then left the ER and went to the other side to get the Dr and other personnel. Wrong procedure.

She should have paged overhead that we had a Code 5 in the ER so that the specially trained team could come and assist. Those teams come running (literally) as a show of force so that the patient will back down and no physical force will be necessary. Hopefully.

Without her paging overhead the ER admitting staff cannot page overhead. It's a procedural thing.

I saw the Unit Secretary leave the ER without paging overhead so I did it. Not 30 seconds later we had people running into the ER from all directions. The patient was subdued and they left.

When I confronted the Unit Secretary about how she responded her response was "I paged security and I went to get staff members." O.k......but in the meantime you have people in the room with the patient who are in danger. It would not have taken her 5 seconds to page it overhead first.

GGGrrrrr on her!!

There is a reason we have procedures to follow. Tried and true methods. Don't fix what ain't broke!!!