Mental health law help please at wits end?!
Question: if some one admits themselves the hospital wont let us know what is going on" the immediate family." if the hospital says she unstable will the notify us in other words if my sister is no longer in charge of whats happening to her right now she wants this and needs it because they gave her the wrong anti anxiety drug and was having problems when she stopped taking it now the hospital has legal-ed up and wont let us talk to her or give us any info what can we do i am ready to go in the and play out a scene from one flew over the cuckoo nest to get myself admitted just to make sure she is all right
she has no history of anything like this in fact she is a RN with 10 plus years exp
they 1st admitted they made a mistake now they wont tell us anything
Answers: if some one admits themselves the hospital wont let us know what is going on" the immediate family." if the hospital says she unstable will the notify us in other words if my sister is no longer in charge of whats happening to her right now she wants this and needs it because they gave her the wrong anti anxiety drug and was having problems when she stopped taking it now the hospital has legal-ed up and wont let us talk to her or give us any info what can we do i am ready to go in the and play out a scene from one flew over the cuckoo nest to get myself admitted just to make sure she is all right
she has no history of anything like this in fact she is a RN with 10 plus years exp
they 1st admitted they made a mistake now they wont tell us anything
Whoa! First of all if your sister is an adult and admitted herself to the mental ward of a hospital, they are unable legally to give anyone information about her treatment without her written permission including immediate family. They can only contact her emergency contact in the case of an emergency.
If she becomes so unstable that she "is no longer in charge of whats happening to her " They will inform her emergency contact.
As far as giving her the wrong anti-anxiety drug, there is always risks with medications and not all medications will work and some may cause severe side effects, that's a fact. She may have needed some time to stabilize and feel better, that happens.
It may be that she has chosen not to have contact with the family right now and that is her right legally. She may be going through some emotional therapy and feels the need to deal with that without the interference of her family. Again, that is her right as an adult.
Being an RN for over 10 years does not make one immune to having mental health issues. In fact, I would trust her judgement even more because of her experience.
If you are very concerned about her treatment and the idea that the family may be being kept from her or not informed of her progress, there are ways to approach this.
You can always contact Patient Relations, a hospital Social Worker, the hospital's legal department, her doctor or a Chaplain. It is too early to contact a lawyer as you have no proof that she hasn't chosen to not have information on her condition released to her family.
Any lawyer worth a nickel would not touch this case with a ten foot pole because there is no proof of mistreatment other than a medication that didn't work for her. That is not criminal or malpractice.
Please don't try anything rash like trying to get yourself admitted, it will only cause more trouble for you and you could be arrested and it could really cause even worse problems for your sister if you actually made it to the same unit.
I know that you are worried and I don't blame you at all. However it is best to calm down and go through the proper channels to get information.
Good luck and many blessings to you and your family.
Yeah, I think its time for a lawyer myself.
That sounds extremely suspicious...I'd definitely do my research on this institution and find out if they have a history of these issues! Then, I would get the police involved. If nothing else, at least maybe they could get into the building and see if she's OK.
If they already admitted screwing up, get an ATTORNEY.
He'll get you in to see her ... and maybe she can sue them.
Try contacting the hospital Social Worker or the Chaplians office and see if you can get any advice....
There is a chance that right now she is not stable--maybe she has 'reported' some kind of fear about the family--or confessed that she has some kind of issue she would rather not have you know about---maybe a drug dependancy you have not been aware of... This sometimes does happen even to a Nurse....
There could be some privacy issues going on here...
A social worker may be able to let you know if this is the case or at least give you a clue to if something confidential is going on....
I will tell you that even parents of Young children Do Not get to know what is happening on a Psych hold at a hospital which is very difficult so I can imagine that with an adult it is much more difficult to get info.....
You know, it's possible that she doesn't want contact with anyone and told them to not release any info at all about her...
Get her out of there. Have her sign herself out. Those places can be very, very bad, and she could come out worse than however she was before. Or not come out at all. I'm not being dramatic. I'm speaking from certain experiences I've had in the past.