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HCA FLORIDA LAKE MONROE HOSPITAL
PATIENT RIGHTS: FREE FROM ABUSE/HARASSMENT
Tag No.: A0145
Based on observation, interview and record review, the facility failed to develop and follow a structured program to prohibit abuse, neglect and harassment.
Findings:
On 9/15/10, observation of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) revealed that all patient rooms were within visual surveillance of the nursing station. Two staff nurses present on the unit at that time were interviewed. Both nurses stated, "An incident report should be completed for anything out of the ordinary that occurs on the unit."
On 9/15/10 at 2:20 p.m., during an interview with the Director of the CVICU, she stated, "I received a complaint from [patient #1] on the morning of 8/07/10, saying that the previous night, [nurse #1] had interacted with the patient in a manner that caused [the patient] to be afraid of that nurse. I think it was more related to the tone of voice of the nurse, and maybe the look on [his/her] face, not that [s/he] actually harmed the patient. I did tell the nurse that [s/he] couldn't take care of that patient, but [s/he] was assigned on the unit the next day, so [s/he] was present on the unit. We just assigned [him/her] to a different group of patients. No incident report was completed. Maybe it should've been. I told the Risk Manager about what happened later, and that's when we decided to do a counseling session with the nurse."
In an interview with the facility Risk Manager on 9/15/10 at 5 p.m., she stated, No incident report was completed following the events of 8/06/10. There is no policy that I'm aware of that requires that an incident report be completed. We do not have a specific policy and procedure regarding reporting or investigating allegations of abuse."
On 9/15/10, review of facility policies and procedures failed to reveal evidence of a program regarding prohibition of abuse, neglect or harassment of patients during care provided by the facility.
In an interview with the RM, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Quality Assurance on 9/15/10 at 6 p.m., these findings were confirmed.