I have recently had some big issues in which I have had to advocate for patients and their safety when they are about to be unsafely discharged by the doctors.
This is a very pationate issue for me as I feel that we are there to do a very important job of ensuring that the patients mobility status is safe before they are discharged home (unless there are other options such as rehab). So if this is our job, then how come some of the doctors (all that I have met this week) don't take it seriously!
I have done my best this week (and probably stepped on some toes) to keep a couple patients in (or make other arrangements for them) that I truly felt were a huge falls risk if they were discharged to their home. Not to mention that these patients had a had strokes and both of them were expected to leave two days post stroke!! Even if they were farely minor strokes they had huge balance issues! (not to mention a million other risk factors)
I was beginning to question my judgment on Friday when I was in the middle of advocating for another patient who had been admitted two days ago with a severe exacerbation of MS and complete loss of previously independent ambulation. As I spoke to the resident and she said to me "oh, well it's "ONLY MS" and "it wasen't a stroke" and "she'll get better without physio" ummmmm..................the ward clerk came over to tell me that my patient sho had been discharged against my judgment yesterday was back down in the ED as he was "not coping at home". Ummmmmm, can someone please tell me why I feel so educated??? Where are we saving money here??
p.S. That dosen't include my spelling
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