Am fost refuzati de pacient - De garda pe SMURD

“The patient has the right to refuse or stop a medical intervention by assuming, in writing, responsibility for his decision; the consequences of refusing or stopping medical acts must be explained to the patient.” But what happens when the patient’s decision-making capacity is affected? It often happens in the case of patients when they urgently need medical intervention: accident, cyclist hit while intoxicated, who refuses any kind of treatment and transportation, acute lack of air with hypoxia that affects judgment and who vehemently refuses any interaction with medical personnel. It is an unwritten law that in these situations the patient should be transported to the hospital and later, when the part that may prevent him from making a good decision is resolved, to refuse any kind of treatment. We were asked to see an elderly patient who was found fallen next to the bed by his son. The man was very recalcitrant: he refused to be cared for by his son, he refused to interact with us. His health was precarious: 2 wounds that urgently needed medical care, but also the generalized infection that was forming at that moment. To top it all off, the patient tested positive for COVID-19 during the case. See how the whole story ended in the clip below. I learned a lot from this case. How about you? See you next time. You can find me at [email protected] for any interesting things we can do together.