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,,,, But a hospital is a public institution, and if a patient or his family feels a need to conceal his very presence in the hospital, he should be required to at least show cause for that degree of secrecy.
Our handlers seem to be way overshooting on some aspects of personal privacy, and way undershooting on others.,,,
I see you understand privacy.
The hospital might be a public facility.
When you are in that hospital room there is a expectation of privacy. This is not a issue of secrecy but of privacy.
Same as a motorhome. It may be parked on a public road but you still need to knock and ask permission to enter.
Just gripes me that hospitals can restrict your visitors, but you can have dozens of medical students cram into your room like some sort of freak show.
What if I THE PATIENT says visitors, yes, medical students, no?
I never could understand you have to have a certain relationship to visit, so no gay couples, no divorced couples, etc.
If a gay guy wants his partner to come visit, why should it bother anyone? Strange world!
You certainly can tell a doctor "no students" if you wish. However, when you go to a teaching hospital, that is the way they run it. You would need to go elsewhere.
You are confusing gay/divorced couples with the OP's question. If a patient is unconscious/delirious/not capable of making decisions, then the closest relative has the decision-making capacity, absent legal documents to the contrary.
I have a living will and a Helath Care POA for my daughter should I become incapable of making decisions. If the closest relative decides no gay partner or no divorced spouse, it may be heartless but it is legal. That's why EVERYONE needs a helath care POA to specify what they want, who they want making those decisions, etc.
Going back to the OP, it seems the guy is unconscious, so "visit" is not exactly the operative word here. I believe the hospital has the authority (and maybe even obligation) to reveal his condition status (critical, serious, stable, dead, etc) to anyone who asks. Any other information disclosed by the hospital is subject to the expressed wishes of the patient, or his legal representative if he is incapacitated. I believe the person with medical power of attorney has no authority, if medical professionals deem the patient competent to make his own medical decisions.
If the patient is conscious, and you feel that a family member is unreasonably excluding visitations, you have every right to knock on his door, announce yourself, and ask if you can see him, the same as if he were at home. (My previous post addresses only this kind of situation.) If he is unconscious, what does it matter if you gain access to his room or not?
A friend of mine was emitted to the hospital after collapsing. He's unconscious at the moment so his wife is calling the shots. From what I've been told she decides who can visit him during this time. She denied visitation from grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.. Apparently this is the law set by whom? Is this a state or federal order? Just found it very unpleasant considering the man is very close to his family. Any links or more info about this would be great. Thanks.
oooh oooh, my turn!
Ok, I am a RN at a hospital, not the CCU though, so I will give it my best shot!
What if, lets say, he is on a respirator and the wife does not want the family to see him that way.. Is she not letting his children or his parents in??
It can get chaotic and tiring for the pt and staff if all family members were allowed in the CCU. She should, however, have updates and show some appreciation for family wanting to see him and answer their questions.
The POA has control while he is unable to communicate. As soon as he wakes up, and is able to, he can tell his nurse who he would like to come in.
I sure as heck wouldn't want my cousins to see me like that...
Thanks for the info. I'm not visiting him, his grandma asked me to look it up on the internet for her. She, and myself, didn't know the spouse would have power over that of his parents by default.
The wife caved in after his brother spoke to her. The family has now been able to see him. She told his brother she didn't want them in because she didn't like them and it'd put more stress on her.
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