dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
uniqs
13
PX Eliezer704
Premium Member
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River

PX Eliezer704 to Thane_Bitter

Premium Member

to Thane_Bitter

Re: [Serious] Nurse who transferred prank call commits suicide

Yes, and the prank call was 5:30 AM local time, no switchboard operator at night, so this nurse was the person who initially answered the call and transferred it to the nurse taking care of the Duchess.

A real shame.

DKS
Damn Kidney Stones

join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON

DKS

said by PX Eliezer704:

Yes, and the prank call was 5:30 AM local time, no switchboard operator at night, so this nurse was the person who initially answered the call and transferred it to the nurse taking care of the Duchess.

A real shame.

No small hospital (this is a "boutique" maternity hospital, remember) has staff on the switchboard 24/7. It would not be unusual for a night staff nurse to answer the telephone.
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned)

Member

said by DKS:

No small hospital (this is a "boutique" maternity hospital, remember) has staff on the switchboard 24/7. It would not be unusual for a night staff nurse to answer the telephone.

The charge nurse on duty, who may have no or less patients, would be the appropriate person to answer the phone at that time of night.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by peterboro:

The charge nurse on duty, who may have no or less patients, would be the appropriate person to answer the phone at that time of night.

Based on my experience when my son was born a charge nurse at the nursing station was only on duty from 8AM to 8PM. Incoming calls to the ward after hours were handled in the manner exactly described by DKS - any available nurse answered the phone.
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned)

Member

said by Gone:

said by peterboro:

The charge nurse on duty, who may have no or less patients, would be the appropriate person to answer the phone at that time of night.

Based on my experience when my son was born a charge nurse at the nursing station was only on duty from 8AM to 8PM. Incoming calls to the ward after hours were handled in the manner exactly described by DKS - any available nurse answered the phone.

Depending on the unit and size the calls would go to a ward clerk or secretary during the day and a charge nurse again depending on the unit would also be in charge 24/7 concurrently with a manager during the day.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

There is no receptionist or clerk who takes calls at the maternity ward at Welland County General. There is one phone number for all of the hospitals in the region and you use an IVR to reach the specific hospital and department you want to call. Once the call comes in any available nurse answers the call as there was no specific person assigned even during the day when the charge nurse was on duty. There was no charge nurse on duty between 8PM and 8AM. If anything happened it was reported to the charge nurse during charting at 8AM during the shift change.

When my wife went into labour we called the hospital prior as we're 45 minutes away and wanted to check with them as to when to come into the hospital. The same nurse who answered the call was the one who tended to us when we arrived, and ended up being one of the nurses who watched our son while he was there sick for two weeks after being born.

DKS
Damn Kidney Stones

join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON

DKS to peterboro

to peterboro
said by peterboro:

said by DKS:

No small hospital (this is a "boutique" maternity hospital, remember) has staff on the switchboard 24/7. It would not be unusual for a night staff nurse to answer the telephone.

The charge nurse on duty, who may have no or less patients, would be the appropriate person to answer the phone at that time of night.

Having observed hospital operation at night on many occasions, that is not always the case. It depends on the hospital.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by DKS:

Having observed hospital operation at night on many occasions, that is not always the case. It depends on the hospital.

Exactly. My niece was born at the Civic Hospital in Ottawa earlier today, and seeing as how they have 14 delivery rooms and a massive birthing ward I would expect they would have at least one charge nurse 24/7. At Welland, where there's only three, that is most definitely not the case.
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned)

Member

NM

DKS
Damn Kidney Stones

join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON

DKS to Gone

to Gone
said by Gone:

said by DKS:

Having observed hospital operation at night on many occasions, that is not always the case. It depends on the hospital.

Exactly. My niece was born at the Civic Hospital in Ottawa earlier today, and seeing as how they have 14 delivery rooms and a massive birthing ward I would expect they would have at least one charge nurse 24/7. At Welland, where there's only three, that is most definitely not the case.

A hospital the size of Civic would have a 24/7 switchboard. We do here. A smaller hospital, not always.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

Fair enough, but when we went to the Civic today the information desk had no staff. I found that quite surprising considering just how big that hospital is, even on a Sunday.

As for back home, NHS no longer has a 24/7 switchboard for any hospitals and it's the largest multi-hospital system in the entire province. You call one number for the entire system and then drill through an IVR menu to get to the hospital and the department you need. If you hit 0 at the right point during regular business hours you would get someone at a central location who would give you information, but it's not 24/7 (I've tried) and the people who answer those calls are all located at the business office in St. Catharines. Once you drill through the menu it would depend on the individual department who answers. I would assume that somewhere like the third or fourth floor of the St. Cats General would have a dedicated staff member to answer the phone 24/7 due to how busy that word is, whereas some departments at Douglas Memorial or Port Colborne General would have the phone ring and ring and ring even in the middle of the day.

Either way, the way the call was handled at King Edward VII isn't exactly out of the ordinary, even for many Canadian hospitals.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

said by Gone:

Fair enough, but when we went to the Civic today the information desk had no staff. I found that quite surprising considering just how big that hospital is, even on a Sunday.

Do Canadian hospitals usually have volunteers to help out? In any US hospital I ever visited, there were unpaid volunteers(usually retired people) to do duty at information desks.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by FFH5:

Do Canadian hospitals usually have volunteers to help out? In any US hospital I ever visited, their were unpaid volunteers(usually retired people) to do duty at information desks.

Yes. Lots of volunteers at hospitals, though I suspect that they aren't there on a Sunday afternoon.