Entitled Patients

When you come in for dialysis, you are supposed to wait in the waiting room until they call you in. Each pod of 7-8 chairs only has one nurse and two technicians so sometimes the schedule can be a bit fluid. I’m supposed to start at 9:00 am and get hooked up by 9:15 am. They want you here 15 min early so sometimes I get called at 8:45 am, and other times not until 9:00 am or later. It all depends on the timing of getting other patients on and off the machines.

I always wait until they call me and there are usually other patients waiting too. However, I noticed that many patients just wander in whenever they arrive, or their caretaker/driver just pushes them into the clinic. Today, while I was waiting, two patients from my pod just wasn’t straight in without waiting to be called. It’s as if they’re too important to wait, and the staff needs to tend to them right away. The patient in the nice powered wheelchair got kicked out but the other person in a manual wheelchair was seated and connected.

I was called in around 9:00 am. The pod was super busy so I didn’t mind waiting. While the nurse was connecting me, several other patients came in without being specifically called in. Some were turned away, but those in a wheelchair just hung out and got in the way. My nurse was a bit flustered since she felt she needed to rush to get the other patients on the machine, which is not good for me. My catheter is a huge infection risk if they don’t clean enough between steps.

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A patient came in a second time without being called. They’re trying to get a patient off the machine to clear a spot so there’s nowhere to sit. Since he can walk, they kicked him out again to the waiting room. How hard is it to wait until you’re called? Do they also barge into busy restaurants as soon as they arrive and demand a seat? Go to the airport and demand a seat on the next flight without a reservation? Sheesh!