"We don't have any catheters for you"

[RightSide]

While I was in the hospital being fitted for my hemodialysis catheter, I also needed to catheterize my urinary tract 3x/day to treat my chronic severe urinary retention problem.  (Yes, I'm probably going to have prostate surgery when I'm feeling better.)

The evening before I went into the hospital, I was prescreened by a hospital representative.  I had told her about my urinary retention, and I offered to bring my own intermittent urinary catheters to the hospital with me.  She said that was totally unnecessary; the hospital had adequate supplies of everything.  So I left my urinary catheters home.

Then after my hemodialysis catheter was fitted to me, I wanted a nurse to help me with a urinary catheterization.  And lo and behold, they started looking around, and guess what!  There wasn't one intermittent catheter in my size (14 fr) in the entire hospital!  The nurses desperately called every department they could.  No dice.  In desperation, they tried to catheterize me with Foley catheters, even though those aren't supposed to be used for intermittent catheterization.  But those were the wrong size too.

My dad and uncle had driven from New York in a pouring rain to come visit me in the hospital.  When I met them, I explained the situation, and they drove to my apartment to retrieve my own box of catheters and take it back to the hospital so I could catheterize myself.

The prescreening representative was obviously clueless, and she should not be reassuring patients that the hospital always has exactly the medical equipment the patient needs.  It can't possibly have everything in stock.

I'm seriously thinking of writing a letter of complaint to the hospital about this.

[okarol]

My daughter has been self cathing 5 times a day for 8 years. It never fails that they will ask for a urine sample when we weren't expecting it, she has forgotten a catheter and the entire hospital cannot find one. Sometimes they finally find one for a male, which works ok. I can't believe they told you they would have them available and didn't. What a joke. Lucky your family was able to help you out.

[David13]

I think you should most definitely write a letter of complaint.  The pre-screening representative obviously thinks she knows more than she actually does.  Perhaps you can prevent her doing this to someone else in the future.

[willieandwinnie]

RightSide, Sorry you ran into such problems with the hospital and yes, write that letter. When my husband was on dialysis (and even now), I carry a bag that would have spare needles, gauze, bandaids, paper tape, gloves that fit me, alcohol wipes and anything else that I could think of. I don't believe them when they tell me that they have stuff and we didn't always like the stuff they had if they did. Lord, I almost confused myself there. Pack you an emergency bag to take with you. 

[jbeany]

I had the same trouble at the hospital with some of my meds.  I brought everything with me, and when I said I had my own stuff, the nurse got kind of huffy, complaining that I wasn't supposed to take anything the nurses didn't give me.  And then, of course, they didn't have what I needed.  Idiots!