My mom called crying today. Said the night nurse got upset with her because she asked for her pain medicine. Then grabbed my mom's wrist and threw the medicine cup at her. I am waiting for the director of nursing to call me. My mom said she filed a report and they told her the nurse will not get away with that. What do I need to do next??
I would seek to ascertain what transpired.
The facility my mom is at for rehab has an open investigation and the police are involved. She is completely alert and oriented and I am glad they are taking this seriously. My mom had an appointment with her surgeon and he advised that anytime abuse happens to have the family member leave AMA and take her to the ED for evaluation and they will admit her and find another rehab facility. I am glad he informed me of that option as this is my first experience with a rehab facility.
Based on this previous post
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/how-much-is-enough-471900.htm?orderby=oldest
I would bet this is mom's newest manipulation to try to get discharged home.
Again, I would ask about a security camera placement. Just it being there, whether used or not is a warning to any and all. Glad you are following up. Clearly the nurse who is being accused would/should not be the one to file any complaint with. I am glad this is in the hands of the DON now. I hope you will get some results. If there are any other complaints against this person it rises to a new level and that's why it is so important to see that a report is filed.
My mom also felt they withheld her pain meds just to be mean to her.
Nobody is going to have their career ruined if the situation didn't happen.
I, personally, saw that the night staff screwed off and were put out with having to do their job. I went in to see the DON and tell her what was going on after she went home. I never saw those caregivers again, so I think that the situation was known and it was the last straw or they were moved where patients weren't as needy.
I honestly don't care what happened to them, you treat human beings like animals and you can jog on and sell Micky Ds for all I care.
It is so important to make this behavior known, if it can't be proved, no one gets injured. But many suffer at the hands of an abusive nurse and they are out there.
If you don't already know the name and phone number of the ombudsman, call the facility and ask the receptionist to give it to you.
In my experience, elders who awaken in a strange place in the dark, when their glasses and hearing aides are not in place, and the nurse is trying to administer a pill without awakening the other roommate, confusion can result.
It may be that your mother was startled, reached out to hit the nurse thinking she was being assaulted by an intruder, and the nurse had to grab her wrist to prevent your mother from injuring the nurse.
Please do not call the police right away. As you get more information from facility and ombudsman, you might feel that you do want to call the police and file a report.
It’s worth thinking this through carefully. If Mother has not got it straight (perhaps because she was half asleep rather than dementia), you may damage the career of an unfortunate staff member, waste a lot of people’s time investigating nothing, and make your mother very unpopular with all the staff members.
The last time I was in hospital following an operation, I was woken regularly during the night for obs and drugs. It felt dreadful to be dragged up from the depths of drugged sleep, although my guess is that the night nurses were simply doing what they had to do.