CEO Opines they are Prone to Technical Problems and False Alarms
Another article on Pembroke Hospital has been in the paper written by Patriot Ledger reporter Chris Burrell.
One of the many complaints by state agencies investigating this facility is that there were no mechanisms carried by staff to summon help; no phones equipped with panic buttons or any other device to alert someone when assistance is needed.
The Ledger describes how OSHA “has armed some of the staff with walkie-talkies to call for help in a violent situation or a medical emergency.”
I might add that, from my personal observations, Pembroke Hospital lacks the security - trained or not – to provide that assistance.
So I ask: The staff is now armed with walkie-talkies, but to what end? Who could they possibly be alerting?
According to the Ledger, Pembroke Hospital CEO Thomas Hickey told OSHA that “he felt panic buttons were prone to technical problems and false alarms when set off by accident,” opting instead to arm some Pembroke staffers with walkie-talkies. In a March 2016 letter to OSHA, Hickey wrote, “at least two staffers on each unit carry a walkie-talkie to speed notification of both safety and medical emergencies.” Hickey added, “we have tracked our response times and believe the response times to be less than 30 seconds in most situations.”
I am willing to bet that wasn’t the case when a Pembroke Hospital nurse was struggling with a patient attacking her, nearly leaving her with a torn-off ear and gouged eyes.
Sheila Wilson, RN BSN MPH
President stophealthcareviolence
www.stophealthcareviolence.org
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