Who the heck gave the patient the call bell?
I found myself in hot water the other day because of the call bell. One of my peers received two ambulance patients at the same time, and since I wasn't too busy, I figured I'd run in and give a hand. I got the patient settled in, did my assessment, inserted a luer and drew some blood, did an ECG... all the usual. Then as is my usual practice, I explained what the process would be and that there might be a wait. I then grabbed the call bell and let her know to press the bell if she needed anything.
After a while, the patient pressed the call bell to ask for something or other. Immediately my colleague asked "who the heck gave her the bell?" I of course said I had, and she immediately launched into a long discourse on why she never ever gives the patient the bell and why it's a bad bad idea, and how she would not be able to get any work done with the bell going.
So I have my own thoughts on this, and I will share them in due course, but I want to get your thoughts - nurses and clients alike, and anyone else... what are your thoughts on the call bell? For nurses specifically, do you give your patients the bell? Do you encourage them to use it? Do you make responding to call bells a priority?
Eagerly looking forward to your responses :)
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The best intentions don't always work out
Your heart is in the right place. Compassion is a key part of being a nurse of any sort. The patient should have a way of asking for help if need be and that's why the bell is so important, particularly if the patient can't speak or has a small voice or whatever reason. However, I can imagine a lot of patients being abusive with the bell and wanting immediate relief hence your colleague's reaction.
Always provide a call bell.
Everyone has a different way of dealing this. This is just one viewpoint:
Responding to call bells is not the very top priority, for obvious reasons; you can't just drop everything and go to them. If you know you're going to be very busy, explain this to the patient. But don't ask them not to use it, as this can lead to dehydrated patients "being polite" and failing to ask for water, for instance.
They are a high priority for many reasons. Patient satisfaction is very important, both in and of itself and in terms of repeat business. Even if you work for government health services, satisfied patients help guarantee continued funding and aid.
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