Complaint Review: Doctors Community Hospital & Prince Georges Hospital Center - lanham and cheverly Maryland

I am so sorry for what happened. I am a Registered Nurse and know all too well what is happening in the healthcare systems. I myself was a patient in a hospital (not the one I work for) three times since Sept. 30 having surgery all three times. I never told the staff taking care of me that I was a nurse because I didn't want them to feel like they had to "be on their toes" so to speak. After my last surgery 11/25, I ran a fever of 103F, was delerious, scared and was feeling very bad. I put on the call bell to have assistance to the bathroom and no one came. I was in a lot of pain and was weak from fever and had horrible body aches from the fever not to mention the delerium. By the time I got back in the bed, I was crying so hard I was almost hysterical. It had been over an hour since they took my temp. and they had not come to let me know if they called the doctor and I hadn't had any Tylenol yet either. Finally the nurse heard me in the hallway and came in and said they were waiting to hear from the doctor and she wanted to know why I was crying! I told her, she said sorry and left. I was offered no comfort or the chance to express my concerns. I didn't see her again for another hour when she brought me an antibiotic, 2 tylenol and she left the room. I immediately called my husband and mother and they rushed right over (this was middle of hte night). As a nurse, I was horrified! I could not imagine walkinginto a pt's room while they are hysterical and delerious with fever and just leave! I could never do that! I couldn't live with myself! We were taught in nursing school to treat the pt as if they were your mother/father/husband/child and that is what I do everyday. Don't lose faith, there are some excellent health care professionals out there. It is just a shame that there are also those out there that give the rest of us a bad name. One thing that I can recommend and wish I had thought of it, is to never be left alone. Always have a family member of friend be your advocate and fight for you when you can't.

As a current student in the Medical field I am just beginning to understand the scope of this problem. I unfortunately have seen situations like these first hand. The problem goes way deeper than the Healthcare system,however. We all hear about nurse shortages but the reality of it is that all of the fields are hurting in regards to staffing. The nurses just have a bigger Public Relations organization. There are over 280 million people in the US, even though a very small percentage of this population is hospitalized it is still an extremely large number of patients. If only we were like lawyers.(3 to every person) With such a large number of people requiring medical attention the schools are hard pressed to fill the needed positions. AND here in lies the problem. I feel the schools are to blame. It is the responsibilty of the schools that graduate these incompetant people. I personnaly have members in my class that are almost gaurenteed to pass even though they really dont have what it takes to do their job. Yes they can memorise dosages and formulas and normal values yadda yadda but they dont have the personality or desire to help people or are not able to handle streesfull sitiuations. Yes to be knowledgable is extremly important, but to put that knowledge to use in practical manner is a completley different animal. That being said their are very good nurses doctors and techs. out there. I would go so far as to say the majority of them fall in to this category. The sad truth is with the large number of Hospitals and sick people in them, mistakes are bound to happen. It is as simple as that. Our intent is to help and not harm, and while we strive for perfection it is ultimatley unattainable. I am trying to be the best I can be becuase peoples lives will be in my hands when I graduate, and I am extremly saddened to see these things happen to anyone, but at least this site is here so we all can make better informed decisions and take better care of ourselves and not take our health and body for granted.

Yes the Joint Commission does investigate complaints very thoroughly. They are very proactive in making sure that Hospitals that are accredited by them meet exacting standards.

01-17-03 Dear Michelle Hyattsville, Maryland If the Doctors Community Hospital is an osteopathic hospital, which it sounds like then the American Osteopathic Association regulates the D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) and their performance. Write a complaint to http://www.aoa-net.org/ The American Medical Association although a regulator of Medical Doctors (MD) might be interested also since their favorable opinion of D.O.s gives the D.O.s more credential credibility. I would write a complaint letter to the doctors involved directly and send a c.c. to the Medical Review Board at the hospital. I would also send a copy to the Chief of Staff. He is the doctor that oversees all the others. If the Chief of Staff is qualified he will take your complaint seriously and notify you relatively quickly. The J.C.A.H.O. (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) http://www.jcaho.org/ has a great name but it is a government agency that only does yearly reviews on hospital operation by walk through and checking policy and procedure manuals. You can file a complaint with them but I would complaint directly with the doctors and staff first. Numbness and nerve damage may be issues that are related to the original injury. However, a poorly done procedure can certainly increase infection and decrease healing. I am very irritated with what you said you overheard by hospital staff. That is totally unacceptable. This is all happening at a time when Patient Care Technicians who receive insufficient medical training for the duties they are given are replacing Registered Nurses and LVNs. Pain is the number one reason for office visits in the United States. Left over Puritan attitudes about relieving pain needs to change. You should also be able to request an opportunity to look at your chart which is stored in the Medical Records department. Those are your records! I hope my suggestions help you. Thanks RipOffReport.com

I work in a hospital environment butI am not a clinician. Poor medical treatment does not have to be tolerated. I am so sorry to hear both stories of the lackluster care that was given. GOOD HOSPITALS take complaints like those very seriously. If you feel the treatment or procedures done at a hospital were sub-standard or in those two cases out-right cruel you can contact the following groups. Call them and find out what their complaint reporting system is. J.A.C.H.O. - I clipped this from their webpage .."The mission of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. " Hospitals get in a LOT of trouble when nagative reports reach JACHO. You can do a simple internet search and find their contact numbers. Another organization to contact is the County's consumer affairs office. It is tedious to do the complaint paperwork but one or two credible reports of poor patient care will smudge the hospital's reputation. Last note, Whenever you are seriously ill or injured designate someone to ACTIVELY push for your best and prompt treatment. When you are ill it is difficult to stand up for yourself or ask pertinent questions. You must be an active participant in your immediate treatment. Period.

First, the numbness in the fingers and hand indicates nerve damage or pinched nerves. You need to get that evaluated by a good neurosurgeon. Second, scares can be mininize (sorry about the spelling) by a plastic surgeon or tattoos.

My husband was in PG Hospital's trauma unit about 2 years ago. He had a skilsaw accident that ripped everything in his left wrist. When I arrived, he was passing out from the pain. Before I arrived and about an hour after, a ER doctor came in and started digging in his arm before giving him any type of pain medication. Both time, when my husband screamed, they stopped and asked him how long ago he received pain medications, both time he told them that no one had come in and given him any pain medication.

He had 2 surgeries that evening, the doctor that preformed an on call doctor at PG Hospital and had a practice at Howard University Hospital. He was very good with explaining everything, then.

As of now, my husband has trouble finding a stable job because people see a intence scar and start asking questions. Since the surgeries, this doctor had done absolutely nothing, my husbands fingers and wrist are still numb to date.

I wonder what's happing to health care anymore?