Total Bullshit

[minx]

I spent the last week in NJ - my mom had a major GI bleed and was in the hospital for a week. 
My eldest sister took a week of leave to stay with her in the hospital.
Sister #2 just had surgery herself and cannot do much
Sister #3 had more than exhausted leave
So that left me.

I was responsible for getting mom to all of her follow-up appointments and generally keeping an eye on her.

So...

Doctor #1 (PCP) - One patient with a companion allowed into waiting room (fully masked of course), and one patient with companion allowed into exam room.  Masks on except when they checked mom's lung function - she was allowed to take hers off for that.

Doctor #2 (Gastro) - Patients only brought into office if they need a physical exam, otherwise all appointments done virtually.  Since she didn't need a physical exam, virtual appointment.

Doctor #3 (Cardiologist) - Visit has to be in-person, but patient cannot bring ANYONE into the office with them.  You can have a companion walk you to the door of the office, but that's all.  No exceptions, even for a 92 year old woman who was just released from the hospital after a major GI bleed and now needs the assistance of a walker because she is still recovering her strength.  Not even the person she lives with.

I call total bullshit on this.
Are they making their entire staff (including the doctor) take a rapid test each morning to show a negative result before they allow patients inside?
Do they make the patients take one as well?
If not, how can I as a patient know that the facility is safe?

It's one thing to take precautions, but this to me is the definition of 'living in fear'.  Screen everyone before they come into the building, limit how many people can come in at once (no one in waiting room, or at most one patient), and have others wait in their cars until the waiting room is free.  Limit the amount of companions to one or two in special circumstances (I'm thinking about parents with little kids - both parents should be allowed in).  Make everyone wear a mask and either wash their hands as soon as they're inside or use hand sanitizer.  But enough of the bullshit of allowing your patient in, but no one else.


Not that I'm pissed at all....

And I'm back home now and very, very happy. Mom is doing much better - I have her on an 'exercise' program of doing laps around the upstairs of the house with the walker three times a day to build her strength back up.  And sister #2 is also doing better (she's the one who lives with mom), so she's taking care of mom now.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I'm glad your mom and sister are doing better.

I can think of 3 times in recent visits to medical offices where that "no exceptions" shit wouldn't fly, full stop. All 3 were cases of very disabled kids with autism or something similar.

While I certainly understand the reasoning behind these policies, there really should never be a "no exceptions" rule for any medical provider. Or caregiver.

[minx]

I do understand the restrictions in a hospital setting, but almost every hospital has changed them to allow visitors as long as the patient themselves wasn't admitted with COVID.
And they are restricted - my mom was allowed one person per day, and they really wanted it to be the same person each day, but they would allow you to have person A on Monday, and person B on Tuesday as long as they met all other protocols. That seemed reasonable to me (and yes, if you had a kid in the pediatric ward both parents could visit at once). Not sure about exceptions for intellectual disabilities - wasn't on their website.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I think most of us agree that priority should be protecting the healthcare providers because if we don't, then we're not just sort-of fucked, but completely fucked. It's enough of a tragedy that so many people are getting taken out by this but to have it taking out those trying to care for them compounds the tragedy several fold. So change should be expected. I do not and would not want to risk the lives of the people caring for me in that setting if there was any way to prevent it, but at the same time, would go to the ends of the earth to be with my wife and kids if they were in any kind of life threatening condition, probably to the point of being an irrational asshole about it. Very tough situation that none of us want to ever have to experience from any side of it.