Just Plain Ruff Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 So in other words you were asked to file charges on the patient because more than likely the police officers involved who heard the distinct threats of suicide didn't want to get a judge out of bed and do a 96 hour hold on the patient. They relied on bullying you into filng charges so they could put him in jail and let him sleep off the drunk. I've been down this road with the police in the town I worked in many times. They don't want to file the affidavits and wake the judge so they pressure me or someone else to file some sort of charges or do their work for them. I would not have filed charges on the guy. What he did was not illegal in my state. I'm sorry you got caught up in this situation, next time stand your ground and don't do the cops work for you. It may make cooperation a little more difficult in the future but that too shall pass. I have stood my ground a couple of times and it didn't mess up the long term relationship we had with the cops in our town.
runswithneedles Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 Sorry im so behind on the ball with this post. But in a situation like this one. The deputy made a valid point. He might try again to shoot himself after he is discharged. In the sake of your patients best interest in the long term.......................Wait a minute. Cant he be institutionalized for at least a psychological evaluation since he was considering to kill himself. Especially if you and the deputies have the paper trail to prove his intentions that night? Did you notify the attending physician of his suicidal ideations?
Asysin2leads Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) Its not ethical to file charges on someone that you would not have otherwise filed to achieve some medical goal. If a patient is acting inappropriately, there is a whole continuum of actions that can be taken in between not doing anything like your cops did on scene and later filing criminal charges. There is also a whole process to go through to involuntarily hospitalize a patient who presents suicidal ideation with an action plan to accomplish his goals, which as previously was mentioned, is at the State and I think Federal level because of Medicaid. What the local sheriff thinks about the whole thing isn't relevant, despite his feelings to the contrary. If they felt that strongly about the patient they should have gone through that process. A patient who is released from the hospital and then goes commit suicide is a powder keg of liability for the hospital, the cops, and your service. Make sure your report states very explicitly his suicidal ideation and what was witnessed on scene. Then flip a coin whether to start a Civil War with local law enforcement and the hospital by documenting the fact they asked you to file charges rather than go through the proper route. It sounds like your locals may need a bit of a wake up call about how to do their jobs. Edited January 24, 2012 by Asysin2leads
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