Here’s another in the Globe & Mail’s series on understanding the healthcare system. This one’s a short video, called: How do hospitals decide who gets a bed?. The voiceover is by a “patient flow specialist,” an RN whose
A couple of quotes from the video:
“It’s constant juggling. We’re constantly playing with missing pieces of a puzzle, we’re trying to make the best to make it work and make everyone get the care that they need…”
“What we’re often doing is speaking to the charge nurses, speaking to the staff physicians, speaking to the fellows, to say if I only do get one bed, who’s the best to move out at this time? You want to take the best patient, the most stable patient — that way you don’t get anyone bouncing back.”
“A patient flow specialist is a registered nurse who basically triages patients from all areas of the hospital, and brings them according to the skillset of the floor, according to patient need…”
The video also touches on the challenges in getting patients and their families to understand hospital prioritization practices when it comes to beds:
“I think it’s very hard for people to understand, when they themselves or their loved one is sick, to understand that there are other needs outside. It’s very hard to accept that when the immediate person at that time requires help and care.”
Finally, the video also touches on the big picture, and the fact that hospital beds are (or should be) just one option among a range of options including various forms of home- and community care.
The Nursing Ethics Blog 