I’m truly curious. Not even trying to complain, I understand the hospitals are full but like what takes so long to print paperwork?
UPDATE: Thank you all for your input and responses, it definitely helped the time pass by. We are home now. I do understand waiting is not suffering but at some point something has to give. We have an infant and toddler who had to be left with family and we were anxious to get home to them. I understand we are not the only people who have ever had to wait for discharge. I was truly curious as to what the hold up is. After getting incoming responses seeming to state that this is normal, it all got to me. This should not be normal and the patient, critical or not, should not have to get the short end of the stick. Reality or not. In a perfect world I guess.
Sorry to all the underpaid, over worked staff.
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You said you had two kids you needed to get to. But you chose to wait at the hospital with your husband. So that’s kinda on you.
And before you come at me, I’m a single mum with no help. I have been in and out of hospital constantly over the past 9 months while I’ve battled cancer. I’ve had to call in favours to have my daughter cared for. If I had a partner who was just sitting with me, waiting for me to be discharged, I’d tell them to leave and tend to the kids and I’ll get an Uber home.
As someone from the construction industry all I can say is that hospitals and perhaps even most health care professionals don’t understand what it’s like to be time efficient. It’s not on their radar. I know they’re understaffed and thats probably largely to blame. However there’s still way too much conversation, yet somehow still lacking important communication that could save time, there’s dawdling, standing around, and general disregard for time. Drs especially guilty on this. Maybe it’s the long shifts.
Funny story. I once checked myself out of the hospital against medical advice. I’m diabetic and they didn’t want me to leave while my sugar wasn’t controlled. I was pregnant and had been telling them for a day that I needed more insulin. They refused and would only allow me as much insulin as their sliding scale said I needed. Not surprisingly, my sugar was still high. I said “fuck this” and told them I was leaving. Had them take out my IV and I bounced. 4 hours later my blood sugar was perfect. That was the only time in my life I haven’t had faith in my care team. Otherwise i just know when they say “morning discharge” they mean lunchtime.
Funny story. I once checked myself out of the hospital against medical advice. I’m diabetic and they didn’t want me to leave while my sugar wasn’t controlled. I was pregnant and had been telling them for a day that I needed more insulin. They refused and would only allow me as much insulin as their sliding scale said I needed. Not surprisingly, my sugar was still high. I said “fuck this” and told them I was leaving. Had them take out my IV and I bounced. 4 hours later my blood sugar was perfect. That was the only time in my life I haven’t had faith in my care team. Otherwise i just know when they say “morning discharge” they mean lunchtime.
The process from nursing side of it is quick. It’s waiting around for the doc to make rounds and sign off on the discharge that takes so long.
The process from nursing side of it is quick. It’s waiting around for the doc to make rounds and sign off on the discharge that takes so long.
Long story short each patient has one physician writing their discharge orders, but each physician might be writing discharge orders for between 3-10 other patients, each individualized. We can only perform one task at a time. And those carrying out the orders can only perform one task at a time. It’s a physical law of nature that someone will be the first to go, and someone else has to be the last.
Long story short each patient has one physician writing their discharge orders, but each physician might be writing discharge orders for between 3-10 other patients, each individualized. We can only perform one task at a time. And those carrying out the orders can only perform one task at a time. It’s a physical law of nature that someone will be the first to go, and someone else has to be the last.
I had gallbladder surgery 2 months after giving birth by c-section. They put me in a room with some poor woman who had a terrible stomach virus. Even with percocet, I got no sleep that night, because the nurses kept ignoring this woman but they answered me when I rang the bell. “Mrs Jenkins is throwing up again,” I would say. A nurse would peek her head in, observe the woman barfing on the floor, and ask “You sick?” The next morning, Mrs. J. got on the phone and called every friend and relative she had. The day I was to be discharged, our two-person room was filled almost to the ceiling with people she knew, running back and forth getting her things that she asked for. I’m sure it took longer for the bureaucratic stuff to happen. Eventually, my husband and I looked at each other and just said,”let’s get out of here.” We felt so defiant doing that! Leaving ahead of the official discharge had zero effect on me, healthwise, and we still got the huge bill. I think if you’re able to walk or roll out of the hospital, you should be able to do it, especially if they are delaying your discharge for no sensible reason.
I had gallbladder surgery 2 months after giving birth by c-section. They put me in a room with some poor woman who had a terrible stomach virus. Even with percocet, I got no sleep that night, because the nurses kept ignoring this woman but they answered me when I rang the bell. “Mrs Jenkins is throwing up again,” I would say. A nurse would peek her head in, observe the woman barfing on the floor, and ask “You sick?” The next morning, Mrs. J. got on the phone and called every friend and relative she had. The day I was to be discharged, our two-person room was filled almost to the ceiling with people she knew, running back and forth getting her things that she asked for. I’m sure it took longer for the bureaucratic stuff to happen. Eventually, my husband and I looked at each other and just said,”let’s get out of here.” We felt so defiant doing that! Leaving ahead of the official discharge had zero effect on me, healthwise, and we still got the huge bill. I think if you’re able to walk or roll out of the hospital, you should be able to do it, especially if they are delaying your discharge for no sensible reason.
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