1 out of 15 children

[ALLISA]

Did you all see this morning? I was shocked by the number.....1 out of 15 children in the hospital are a victim of medical mixup !! That is a HUGE number......a reminder to be vigilant if and when our children are hospitalized !!

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23982564/

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

WOW thats alot! Now i'm rethinking my calmness when Mary goes in on monday. Yikes!! I'm also rethinking some of the med's hubby has to take everyday. He has to take moraphine 3 times a day and blood thinners. Oh goodness.

[lespring]

ALWAYS read through your childs file!!! ALWAYS!!! DO NOT Let any nurse or other staff tell you that you're not allowed. YOU ARE!!!!!

When Angela was a baby/toddler and in the hospital A LOT, the charts were kept right outside the door of the room. I would often stand out there and read through her chart.

Then when she was about 4 they started keeping them at the nurses station. I would ask for her chart then take it to her room to read through.

When she was about 6, I went to ask for the chart and the nurse said, "I'm sorry, those are confidential." I said, "I'm sorry. That is my child and by law I'm allowed access to her records." The young nurse got all flustered and called the charge nurse, who told me I was only allowed to read the chart with the primary dr. right there. You know, in case I had any questions about stuff. I said, "Ummm no...not quite true." Finally they called the patient rep who had to set them straight. I could read the chart, but I had to stay at the nurses station with it. (understandable)

When Angela was 7 she spent the entire winter in the hospital with surgical issues. Her surgeon was leaving town for the weekend, so on THURSDAY he told me Angela could be discharged on Sunday assuming there were no other problems that come up, and that on the following WEDNESDAY I was to see him in clinic so he could keep an eye on her wound, he had already let his staff know we'd be coming.

The next day, while I was out of the room, the residents did rounds. I had given FIRM instructions that I didn't want them to do rounds with Angela until I'd been called back to the room. (shame on me for leaving to shower in the parent shower room!) So when I got back and discovered they'd been there, I went to her chart. There were TOTALLY DIFFERENT discharge instructions there! To discharge her on SATURDAY, and to see the dr. in clinic IN TWO WEEKS. GAH!!!!! Had the idiot who did rounds looked on the previous page he would have seen the instructions the surgeon wrote. The signature on this entry was not legible.

I asked the nurses which of the 6 residents did rounds, and she said they'd all been together that day, but she didn't know who's signature that was. She said, "UGH! We hate this! The parent has a question and we dont' even know who signed it! It happens all the time and we hate it." So, I stuck a post it note in the chart which said, "Whoever signed this, I want to speak with you ASAP!!!"

The next morning they ALL came into the room, and the lead resident tried to cover for someone else, saying "We do this, and We do that." I said, "No....WHO SIGNED IT?" Finally one guy raised his hand. I said, "You know what? You could have cost my child her life! Not only that, but with that illegible signature, not even the nurses knew who to go to, and THEY are as frustrated as I am!!!" I went on to show him the previous entry that he would have seen had he turned the page.

So...ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read your child's chart! You'll be surprised at some of the stuff you find in there! I went back to entries from when Angela was in NICU and there were nursing comments like, "Mom is in denial about the baby having ds morphology." or "Mom is insisting that baby be feed with a certain nipple that doesn't work." and crap like that.

[Ericsmomma]

I totally agree...I am like a Mama Bear when it comes to Eric's health...he's had too many
"almost" mistakes while in the hospital. And if I wasn't there to catch them, who knows what the outcome would have been. The same goes for any of my family members. I'm not anti-medical field (heck, I've been a nurse for over 30 years!), but I DO KNOW things can get messed up...or overlooked. I especially hate when most docs will tell me its because he has
"Down Syndrome"...that gets the blame for EVERYTHING! They missed the Hirschsprung's Disease for over a year because they kept saying his constipation was due to low muscle tone. I kept saying, no, this is different..but they kept blowing me off. I finally went to the gastro myself and asked for a bowel biopsy, and reluctantly they did one...guess what? He had hirschsprung's! His intestine was so HUGE from being stretched from the stool I'm surprised it didn't burst! His stoma on his colostomy was as big as my fist...when it should have been about the size of my fingertip. Talk about MEGA COLON!
So now I am very very diligent about my "gut" feelings....but I do it with respect and patience, till someone starts doubting what I think. Then my midlife hormones kick in....and it isn't pretty!

[damarasmom]

I have to admit I have NEVER read Damara's chart...guess I just always assumed they knew what was going on and all on the same line....now I feel like a bad mom for not taking charge of this in the past...but I guarantee you, this will NEVER happen again.
Thank you all for opening my eyes on this issue

[lespring]

You are NOT a bad mom! Most people say it's never occurred to them to look at the chart. Most people, when met with a nurse who says "No" wouldn't bother to ask again.