Why a Patient Advocate Is a Good Idea

Patients need proper care and protection and a patient advocate should be a first line of defense. A patient advocate is someone who advocates on behalf of a patient who; for the most part, is unable to fend for themselves or stand up for themselves (as the need arises) to ensure their needs are being met when in a hospital setting, care facility or nursing home.

What does a patient advocate do?

1) A patient advocate provides comfort

It is normal to want companionship when well, even more so when sick and alone. It is comforting to know someone whom you know and trust is available and within close proximity

2) A patient advocate provides added care

Often times care facilities are under-staffed and the nurses over-worked. Should the patient have an immediate need such as needing to use the bathroom, a patient advocate can quickly get the attention of a nurse who may not be aware of the need. Simple things can be taken care of by the advocate such as closing drapes for privacy, turning on a tv, picking up dropped items etc.

3) A patient advocate provides elevated care

Who isn't on their best behavior when they know someone else is watching? Granted, in today's world there are some who don't give a 'dime" but I think for the majority of people workers will tend to put their best foot forward when they know they are working under watchful eyes.

4) A patient advocate can provide emergency response

if the patient has any adverse reaction to any medication and nurses are out of the room, the patient advocate can get help right away.

5) A patient advocate provides eye witness

Things happen, abuses can and do occur. A patient advocate can document any misbehavior on the part of staff members that they witness (whether written or caught on camera) which can come in handy in the event a lawsuit is brought up against the establishment or worker(s) involved. Firstly though, any causes for concern should be brought up to the management staff to be addressed. If management seems unconcerned or aloof, a little threat of some public reviews can often bring a call to action.

Case in point...

Recently my mother has a stroke and was admitted to the hospital. There just happened to be a male nurse of dark skin with strong foreign accent. I just did not have a good feeling about him which isn't to say he did anything wrong to my knowledge but I've learned to trust your gut. Since I've heard many reports of patient and elder abuse I wanted to be extra vigilant where my own mother is concerned. I thought a good policy would be to never allow a male nurse to be alone with a female patient, especially when curtains are drawn. I observed whether this would be the case or not. It started out that a female nurse accompanied him when they attended to mother but at some point he was alone with her and that did not make me comfortable. I stayed in close proximity as much as I could. I couldn't put my finger on anything definitive like I said but still did not have a good feeling about him. Mother was soon transferred to a different more permanent room so he was not longer her nurse.

However, along with her new quarters came a new nurse crew. Again, multiple ethnic groups. The head nurse had UK accent and was very caring, patient and kind. The others were OK too for the most part. However, one dark skinned female nurse came in at one point to present some meds in a little cup to my mother and instead of helping my mother take the pills, she let my mother try to dig them out with her fingers even though she had poor coordination from just having the stroke. As a result, my mother ended up dropping the pills between the bed and bed rail. The nurse just stood there and watched as my mother struggled to get at them until she finally stepped in and helped to dig them out and put them back in the cup and give them to my mother! I was appalled, first that she did not help in the first place, and second that she did not go and get fresh medicine to take! I am mad at myself for not standing up and saying something. I should have said something like "if that was you in the bed, would you want to take those meds? or how would you feel if that was your mother? Please go get some new pills for her to take."

Since I was my mother's patient advocate, I slept in the room (if you can call it sleeping) and am glad I was available not only for her but her roommate. When a patient needs the restroom, they need the restroom! I was able to track down some help when needed in this regard. Also, my mother's room only had a curtain partition. Her roommate had a machine with an IV attached. From my overheard conversation the nurses had with her roommate, the machine would sound an alarm every time bubbles got in the IV which turned out to be fairly frequent. The alarm would not go out until a nurse practitioner would come and reset it. None of us could get sleep with that thing going off constantly so each time I would get up and track down a nurse so we all could try to sleep. More than once I'd go out into the hallway and find no one in sight! I tell ya...

After being away for a time, I happened to return to mother's room just in time to find her looking poorly. I asked if she was OK and she said she did not feel good. I tried to get her to clarify and she had a distraught look on her face, leaned over the bed, looked at the floor and then reached for the nearby sink. I deduced she was needing to throw up so I quickly slid the garbage can over to her bed side where she made prompt use of it. When the nurses came back I told them and they put her on anti-nausea medicine but again they were not around at her time of need. Imagine the mess there would have been had I not been there to help her out!

Aside from the above examples, I also did a number of lesser things such as helping with blanket cover, arranging drapes for privacy, helping bring her water cup and straw to her ensuring she was comfortable.

I can also tell of the time I went in to ER with a broken toe. I got the impression from how I was viewed and treated that the initial conclusion from most of the staff was my toe was not broken and I was just a bother. After check-in, a nurse told me to follow her to the exam room as she took off like pony express. I tried to follow hobbling as fast as I could while in pain but she pulled away and rounded a corner not even looking back. Granted my toe did not appear broken visually but is that any reason to make me "walk like an Egyptian" down the long hallway? After x-rays were examined, the attendant told me "you did a number on it". Seriously? It would be nice to be treated as if you DO know your own body.

I've experienced enough patient and hospital care first-hand to know it is always a good idea to have an advocate there to help you and witness any peculiar goings on. Whenever I have a doctor appointment or hospital stay, I always try to have someone with me as a witness as to how I was treated.

A word of caution about short term/long term stay...

Before taking it upon yourself to act on behalf of a patient in a short term or long term stay. lit is a good idea to find out from those working directly with the patient what you are allowed and not allowed to do. You can avoid violating company policy and a potential lawsuit if you act in an unauthorized manner with someone not under your appointed care. This is especially important if you are not a direct relative or if you come in after the fact to be a patient's advocate.