www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Is hospital care declining here in the USA?

Here in the States, we cannot leave someone in the hospital for fear that they will receive medicines which are intended for another patient.

In late January 2008, my daughter in law was given a shot of morphine - against the doctor's orders by a nurse who just wanted to put her to sleep. The patient had a violent reaction. Every patient who whimpered or made a sound was given morphine to silence them by that same nurse.

In addition while the mother of my son's wife was present, another nurse came in and against her will and that of the patient administered a shot of penicillin failing to check the patient wrist ID. Again another serious reaction occurred and the patient developed hives and vomited repeatedly. Yes, a complaint was lodged, but the nurse seemed to not be disciplined.

So, the mother was forced to sleep in the hospital in a very uncomfortable chair for three nights so that she could watch her daughter. However, whenever a nurse came into the room bearing drugs, she demanded that the mother leave even though her daughter was asleep.

What is wrong with this picture?

When I was in a Catholic hospital in May 2007, every night I had a nurse come into the room and try to administer sleeping pills, morphine, or other patient's medicine.

Twice they came for blood tests which were for other patients but I demanded that they check my wrist ID and they acknowledged their mistake and left. Another person had just withdrawn my blood, so I knew that something was fishy.

IN 2001 when I was in the emergency room, the overworked doctor prescribed three medicines which could have ended my life due to my allergies and chemical sensitivities. Thankfully, I was lucid and able to tell the nurse of the mistake and thankfully, I did have some medical training.

Sadly it is true, profit rules in todays world as well as a lack of competent doctors and staff, it is no wonder why so many lawsuits are out there...

I'm getting depressed again...

pax
james

There is a reason why medical malpractice is so high and it is not because of frivolous law suits. I also know personally of numerous cases of serious medical malpractice. And I think that even in the "non-profit" sector, it is the profit motive that ultimately wins the day. From what I've seen, Catholic hospitals are no better. My wife and daughter weren't even home from the hospital yet when we received threatening phone calls from the nuns who ran the hospital, threatening to take us to collections. This was also in a hospital where the emergency equipment for newborns was not working properly. My daughter had difficulty breathing when she was born and my heart nearly sank when they couldn't get their equipment working. By God's grace she was saved. But we were not impressed with the hospital services.

Joe

Has anyone seen/reviewed Michael Moore's "Sicko" ? Been forgetting to rent it...

james

My mom's been a nurse for over 50 years and she keeps telling me that she'd never want to be a long-term patient, neither in the hospital or a nursing home.

She tells me daily horror stories of over-prescribing doctors, overworked staff, and careless co-workers. She tells me the hospitals in Germany were far better.

I have a friend who left the USA to go and seek medical help in Germany. They have a far superior system there.

Recently, I had the pleasure to speak to a Cardiologist in some detail on this subject. This Cardiologist told me that he made a very good living off treating patients from Canada. It appears that there are only a few MRI machines in all of Canada. The waiting list is in years for some heart specific operations. Basically, what I got out of our conversation is that the health care system in Canada, England, France, etc... isn't better than are system.