Follow up to Psychiatric Nurses are more than Angels
Pembroke Hospital is a 120-bed psychiatric facility; a healthcare venue that assists people with mental illness, and a place that should be safe, understanding, compassionate and helpful to all who need to be there.
Sadly, it appears that this is not the case.
On the contrary, Pembroke Hospital has been cited for failed standards for patient safety, according to the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Massachusetts. The facility has received a Hazard Alert letter from OSHA that they have ignored for 5-6 months, which “flagged the number of workers injured by violent patients and called for improved staffing and safety measures," again according to the Patriot Ledger.
Much is being said about the failures of this hospital, yet nothing is being done about it.
If the medical staff doesn’t have the right tools to work with, what are they to do? In this 120-bed facility there is only one code cart. Why aren’t there code carts on each floor or section?
I recently had the opportunity to visit a patient at Pembroke Hospital. This is what transpired:
Once again, I am stymied. How could this environment possibly be safe for staff, patients or visitors?
I would like to express my gratitude to ALL healthcare workers at Pembroke Hospital. Psychiatric nursing is a specialty, and each and every nurse I met was awesome.
And please: be safe and fight hard for your safety and the safety of your patients.
Sheila Wilson R.N. BSN MPH
President
Stop Healthcare Violence
www.stophealthcareviolence.org
Pembroke Hospital is a 120-bed psychiatric facility; a healthcare venue that assists people with mental illness, and a place that should be safe, understanding, compassionate and helpful to all who need to be there.
Sadly, it appears that this is not the case.
On the contrary, Pembroke Hospital has been cited for failed standards for patient safety, according to the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Massachusetts. The facility has received a Hazard Alert letter from OSHA that they have ignored for 5-6 months, which “flagged the number of workers injured by violent patients and called for improved staffing and safety measures," again according to the Patriot Ledger.
Much is being said about the failures of this hospital, yet nothing is being done about it.
If the medical staff doesn’t have the right tools to work with, what are they to do? In this 120-bed facility there is only one code cart. Why aren’t there code carts on each floor or section?
I recently had the opportunity to visit a patient at Pembroke Hospital. This is what transpired:
I walked right through the front door. A woman was sitting alone, and asked who I was there to see. I told her. She noticed my purse and she asked about a cell phone. I responded by yes I had a cell phone, whereby she informed me that I couldn’t bring either my purse or my cel phone onto the floor.
I asked her where were the security guards? She responded that there weren’t any. This completely unnerved me and didn’t make me feel safe at all. Here I was: a visitor in a psychiatric hospital, without a cell phone and no security personnel.
However, that wasn’t the worst of it.
One of the staff arrived to escort me to the floor I wanted to visit. We walked through two other units, amongst all of the patients milling about. I thought, this is a potentially insecure and unsafe environment.
I finally arrived where I wanted to be and had my visit. While there, other patients were just meandering around, nothing to do. I noted that there was a television, but there didn’t appear to be any structure.
I would like to express my gratitude to ALL healthcare workers at Pembroke Hospital. Psychiatric nursing is a specialty, and each and every nurse I met was awesome.
And please: be safe and fight hard for your safety and the safety of your patients.
Sheila Wilson R.N. BSN MPH
President
Stop Healthcare Violence
www.stophealthcareviolence.org
How is it possible Pembroke Hospital - a high-risk environment - is permitted to conduct itself in such a way that it puts staff, visitors (and other patients) at such grave risk?
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