Advice for patients in the hospital
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
September 28, 2005
A good attitude and polite assertion of rights is important for patients and families while in the hospital. Everyone in the hospital is dedicated to saving lives and healing patients, but mistakes can happen, according to a column in USA Today. Having attentive patients and families can help spot and correct mistakes before they cause harm.Patients should have family members at the hospital 24 hours a day, according to the article. Although many hospitals have restrictive visitation hours, others are opening their doors to family members and offer beds or fold-out chairs for better comfort. Having someone in the room to ask questions and point out problems is a key to safe care.
Other points in the article include getting to know nurses, when shift changes happen, and to hold questions until after those changes. Shift changes are tumultuous and are often the source of errors. It's better for families to hold questions until later in the shift.
To read the complete article, click here.
