My son is nearing the end of a 2-1/2 week stay in the hospital, and here’s what I can tell you about hospital stays based on this and previous experiences.
Doctor’s Orders:
Find out what they are and watch the staff to make sure they are being followed. Nurses change shifts, skim orders, assume it’s been done, are overwhelmed, and they miss things—they are humans after all. Ask questions, ask again. Most nurses take this in stride, a few don’t, but that’s their problem, not yours. Your problem is making sure your loved one gets the care that’s been ordered for them. If your loved one has a wound, make sure the dressings are being changed per the doctor’s orders.
Standard Procedures:
Many practices are standard procedure. If you’re loved one is in a hospital that dates IVs, it’ll likely get changed appropriately, but if not, a standard IV site (where the IV is inserted in the arm) should be changed every 3 days. (Pic lines are different). Several times, my son’s nurse would come in and say it was in “way too long,” which goes back to what I said about skimming charts. Also, if the injury is to an arm, wristbands are available at most hospitals to prevent blood pressures or IVs on that arm. If your loved one doesn’t get one, ask for one. (Hospitalizations with arm injuries have happened twice in my family. With the first one, the wristband wasn’t offered for several days. The second time, we asked for the wristband immediately.)
Drugs:
Know what your loved one should be getting and how often. If they are in pain, ask for pain medication. If the nurse says it’s all the pain medication that’s ordered, and your loved one is in intense pain, ask her to check to see if something can be done. There may be more effective pain medication available with a doctor’s order. Also, if your loved one is given narcotics, ask about a laxative. Narcotics can and often cause constipation. (During a hospital stay for me, it meant a hernia operation later).
Hygiene:
Hospitals have toiletries. You can get toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, etc. Chances are you weren’t planning to be in the hospital, and you didn’t bring those items with you. Ask if your loved one can shower, or tell the staff they need to be cleaned up. Hygiene falls to the bottom of the list in importance when your loved one is very ill, but being clean is important. Not only does it eliminate germs, but if you’re clean, you feel better. (Once, in the hospital, I wanted my hair done, and my hairdresser came to the hospital to do my hair).
The Night Shift:
Often the night shift is handled by a skeleton crew. If possible, stay or have someone stay with your loved one, especially if they cannot get out of bed by themselves. Most hospitals will accommodate a relative staying with a patient, and it helps them because you can do the small things. Hospitals are beginning to create a greater number of private rooms because of HIPAA regulations, which makes staying overnight easier. (I stayed with my son until he was mobile. One night his roommate’s daughter needed to go home. The roommate had attentive care while his daughter was there. After she left, her dad’s call light wasn’t being answered promptly, and when it finally was, it would take forever for the nurse to show up. I started ringing the call light for him, and the attentive service returned. I could see how important it was for someone to be there.
Meals:
If your loved one should be on a special diet, check the tray and make sure it’s what they should be getting. (My son was supposed to get double meat on his tray, which didn’t happen for almost a week, and not until I said something about it.)
If you’re staying all day or overnight, most hospitals will provide a tray (free or for a small fee) for you too, and too often they don’t tell you it’s an option. You need to ask, and you may have to ask at every meal.
Our family has had a number of hospital stays at a number of different hospitals, and these problems seem omnipresent. This information is based on our experiences. Experiences may vary, but based on conversations with others about hospitals, probably not by much.
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