'AITA for refusing to give a patient a soda in the hospital because I'm not a doctor?'
"AITA for refusing to get someone a drink in the hospital?"
shellystrawberry says:
I was in the emergency ward a few months ago because a car hit me while I was cycling home. They were at fault and brought me to the hospital in case of hidden injuries because I took quite the tumble, and my neck hurt really badly.
After all the scans, we were waiting for the results, and there was this other guy in a similar situation. I'm not sure what happened to him, but he was also waiting for his results to come back.
He started to feel dizzy, and with no one accompanying him, he asked my mother if she could get him a cola. Now, when at the emergency ward, this hospital asks you not to eat or drink anything before you are cleared to do so.
I told my mom to get the nurse instead. The nurses were taking way too long, and the guy kept begging for a cola. He really was looking pale, too. I was torn between getting it for him and the fear of doing wrong by him. But I stuck with my initial opinion, especially because it was very hard for the guy to explain why exactly he needed the cola so badly.
Two other guys wanted to give him a sip of their Red Bull, and I said that was even worse. The guy asked for something to eat instead because he hadn't eaten yet either. We had already rung the alarm bell that this was an emergency because he was slowly starting to pass out, and eventually, the nurses came.
But everyone was mad at me because the nurses gave him cola since he was diabetic. My mother's argument is that he knows his body best and wouldn’t ask for cola for no reason. My argument was that he was in the hospital for something we did not know, and I didn't want to end up giving him something that could make things worse. Why else would there be signs saying not to eat or drink before a nurse tells you it's allowed?
I still feel bad and like I was the reason the guy got close to passing out or possibly worse. I denied this guy multiple drinks and a snack, only to find out it would have been fine in the end. Was I the a^&#ole?
OP gave some extra context:
The guy did not have any indication on him that he was diabetic and didn’t say it. My mom did say he might be by the time he nearly passed out and people started to take more action. The hospital is and has been for a while quite understaffed. Where I’m from, there is a high need for more nurses, especially in the emergency room.
Here are the top rated comments.
Gregshead says:
NTA. You don't know what's wrong with him or what they're doing with him. Had they been prepping him for surgery and you gave him something to eat or drink, that would have delayed his surgery by 8-12 hours OR significantly increased the danger of the surgery (because the patient could vomit during surgery).
It's not your place to know or ask about these things. You did the right thing by calling the nurse. The only other thing you could have done was send someone to get the nurse, since this guy was passing out. Still, not your responsibility.
Timely_Egg_6827 says:
NTA -he was in hospital for reasons unknown. Your mother would be blaming you for acting if you had given him something and he'd been ill due to it. Also, your mother was the one adult in the situation who wasn't in pain and possibly confused - she had legs and a voice. She could have walked over to reception and asked as he was on point of passing out.
Puzzleheaded-Age-240 says:
NTA. You are not a medical provider and it's not your fault the ER was understaffed. You did the right thing. Hope you are feeling better!
Reclinerbabe says:
Absolutely NTA. This guy was a stranger, you knew that people shouldn't eat or drink anything in the ER unless cleared by a doctor/nurse. It's unfortunate it was so busy that his guy had to wait, but it's not your fault.