When my father was moved from the surgical trauma unit to the surgical step down unit I encountered one nurse that I felt like treated my father and I poorly. I expressed my concerns about my fathers condition to the nurse, only to have him blow me off. Because it was early in the game I felt like I had to let go because dad was in capable hands (after all he was in a hospital) and I felt like because he was my father and I cared so much for him that no one could take care of him the way I felt like he should be cared for.

The next morning, 12 hours after I left him at the hospital in those "capable hands", we received a call letting us know that dad was in congestive heart failure and they were considering life support. They had drugged him with Ambien during the night and tied him to the bed, for their convenience. (The agitation he experienced didn't help the heart condition that previously existed) Dad's version of the story was that he kept asking them to help him to the bathroom because he needed to have a bowel movement and he thought if he could get in there and just have a few moments of privacy that he would be able to go. They were aggrivated because the heart monitor leads kept coming off and rather than spend a few moments trying to find out what was going on drugs and arm bands became the answer to their problem so they would not be bothered. It was the ENT team that came in the next morning and found him in such a grave condition.

Just because someone is a health care professional doesn't mean that they are qualified to deal with patients nor does it mean that they have compassion for the patient or their families.

Take your complaint to the Director of Nursing of the hospital. I did. I went directly to the top without climbing the ladder. You better believe that when I started talking they started listening. They do not take this kind of thing lightly, but if you don't bring it to their attention they have no way of knowing about it. Every complaint will be investigated and maybe before that health care professional treats another patient like they did your loved one they will think twice before they do it again even if they were not formally reprimanded.

Hospitals have a Patients Bill of Rights. When making your complaint cite specifics. Patients families are also covered in these Bill of Rights.

I've ranted enough. Good luck.

Joy