UPMC Ordered EMTs to Move Patient

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

An emergency department nurse at a York County hospital ordered ambulance paramedics to take back a patient they had just delivered stating that there were no available beds, according to a report from the state Health Department.
The report on the October incident at UPMC Memorial Hospital, which was just made public, states that the nurse first ordered the EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) to take back the patient and then ordered them to take the patient for a CAT scan and X-rays. The patient had been taken to the hospital after a fall at home.
The ambulance crew "was advised by hospital staff that they had no beds available to transfer the patient off the ambulance litter," the report states.
The EMTs responded by stating that the patient was now under the care of the hospital and "the transfer of care was complete."
The nurse, according to the report, then stated that "Nursing did not and will not sign a transfer."
The EMTs then transferred the patient back to their stretcher and ended up waiting an hour before the patient was finally transferred to a hospital bed.
The report notes that except in emergency situations paramedics are limited to the emergency room.
"UPMC failed to assume the care of an emergency department patient that presented via ambulance... leaving the patient in the care of EMS(Emergency Medical Services)," the report states.
In a plan of correction filed with the state in response to the inspection report UPMC implemented an action plan to "create a better experience for our EMS colleagues."improve the experience of paramedics" on their trips to the 98-bed facility.
The hospital response also indicated the charge nurse in question had her charging duties removed.
UPMC Memorial officials did not respond to a series of questions about the incident but did issue a brief statement.
"UPMC Memorial cooperated with state officials and implemented a corrective action plan to address the issues in the complaint. The plan has been reviewed and accepted by the state Department of Health," said hospital spokeswoman Kelly McCall.
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