A person in the hospital is at greater risk than others, so be ready to keep tabs on treatments, ask questions, and act as an advocate.
- If the Patients' Bill of Rights is not posted in a place where it can be seen, ask for a copy.
- Agree only to treatments that have been thoroughly explained.
- If something is not being done and you think it should be, ask why.
- Be friendly and show respect to hospital staff. They will probably respond better to you and to the person in your care. Bad feelings between family members and staff may cause the staff to avoid the person.
- Assist with the person's grooming and care.
- Speak up if you notice doctors or nurses examining anyone without first washing their hands.
- Check all bills and ask questions about anything that isn't clear to you.
I ran into this recently with my mother's hospitalization with hip replacement surgery. She was not supposed to get up without a member of the staff there; however, no one mentioned post-surgical delirium that would cause her to insist - physically - on doing so and I would not be able to get a staff member there. I got reprimanded both for not letting her get up (restraining her) and letting her get up without them there (even though I was told they had more to do than come when I called them) so it was difficult to stay on good terms, even though I tried!