Hospital Kidnapping or For her own good?

Originally posted by Jess_Undefined
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

You have to understand though, if those doctors were to let you or her go, just because you guys said you were fine, and took your word for it, and either of you went home the next day without an evaluation and killed yourselves, that hospital could get in really big trouble and your family could sue them for wrongful death. Its the hospitals JOB to make sure you are okay.

No you have it wrong. The hospital's job is to make sure you are OK if you want to be OK. It is not to imprison you against your will, pump drugs in to you against your will, and drag you down the hall by your feet to cover their own asses. They do that to avoid the lawsuit and insurance claims - they are showing concern for their bottom line - not you as a patient. The problem here is the legal system which has pushed for this type of CYA behavior.

I don't get the people here - you same people complain relentlessly that police officers or soldiers can detain people on trumped up charges and abuse their position yet you have no problem being dragged through a hall by your feet because a doctor did the same. Why are they getting a pass?

the saddest part being, i have no doubt c.p.s. will be called in and they will most likely lose the children.

My son was in a car accident a few weeks ago and stayed overnight. The bill? - A mere $21,000. Thank god someone else's insurance is paying.
Maybe they were so frantic about trying to get her was because they had no insurance.
The costs of hospitalization could be enough to ruin this family financially. Anyone consider that?

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
The costs of hospitalization could be enough to ruin this family financially. Anyone consider that?

That may very well be the case. Unfortunately, the law about 72 hour observations doesn't care about money and hospitals/doctors have to do their job whether you can pay for it or not. I'm sure they'd rather end up losing out on the cost of her hospital stay than be sued for millions later on if she went home and killed herself.

I did watch the vid but with all the confusion in it I mistaken thought one of the children there was taken from the hospital. And the man would have done the same thing most likely if it was one of the kids. Some people who have tried to commit suicide or talked about it are appreciative that someone stepped in to help them. Sorry that you don't feel that way. None the less if you ever feel down please talk to someone about it, people do care.

Wow. That was one hell of a video, S&F.

Now I'm no health professional, but it seems sort of obvious that there should be some kind of de-escalating protocol to follow when family members come in irate over psych holds. This couldn't have been some lone incident, I am sure this plays out hundreds of times a year all over the country.

My first thoughts on the hospital staff response (woman in the back) was, she really isn't setting herself or the hospital in a position of authority. I mean really, if you are legally holding someone against their will, you damn well better have the law tattooed to the inside of your eyelids. Stonewalling with vague language and not providing the person in charge set this guy up to grab the girl out of there...I would too, if that was the best response the hospital could give.
In my imaginary hospital, a hostile family member would be calmly directed to a conference room, where someone qualified could sit down with them and explain the laws, procedures and expectations of the situation.

As for the elevator. Ugh. That security guy needs fired, badly. The whole event was hostile, confrontational, and a total cluster that never had to happen.
In the elevator would have been another GREAT time for someone to stop the battle, speak alone with the family and calm everyone down, at which point they could be directed to a conference room, someone qualified brought in...etc etc.

One final note: As to the guy's motive: You get all hopped up on adreneline like this guy was, see what babble comes out of your mouth. His brain was going about 12 times faster than his mouth could keep up ;P

Honestly, I don't understand why people get so upset over suicide. If someone wants to die they should have that right...especially if they're old or have a terminal disease. One doesn't have to have a mental disorder to want to cease living. If you're broke, sick, or life is just tough and you want to take the easy way out you should have that option. I'm not saying that its the best option but it should be allowed and not looked at as a mental problem.

That being said. I don't believe that hospitals should detain individuals if they suspect a suicide attempt. That woman should have been able to go home if she wanted to. If you have the right to life then you should also have the right to end it when you want to.