ICU nurse forgot to administer pain meds
Not sure if this is the right sub, but want to get some opinions on what I should do or who to reach out to.
My 64 year old father just got open heart surgery for an aortic valve repair this past friday, 5/8. He has been in the Cardiac ICU.
Last night, saturday, 5/9, my dads ICU day shift nurse forgot to give him his pain medication before shift change / before he went to bed. She also left his call button across the room and out of reach. This left him in pain until the night nurse came in 4 hours later to give him his next dosage. When the night nurse came in, that is when the mistake was caught and pointed out.
At that point, he was in excruciating pain and frightened. During this time, he still had his chest tube in and it has been causing shortness of breath. While waiting for a nurse to finally come in, my father was laying in bed facing an anxiety attack and thinking he was dying. His heart rate and blood pressure were high when the nigh nurse checked on him.
When I came in this morning, Im met with my dad looking exhausted and defeated. He explained what happened and how freaked out he was. I talked to yesterday's nurse and the charge nurse, and she admitted to forgetting to administer the pain medication.
I don't want to get anyone in trouble and I know this job is extremely stressful, but something just doesn't feel right. This already stressful weekend has managed to get worse. Now myself, my family, and most importantly my dad, has lost confidence in the hospital.
What is my best course of action from here? Do I call the nurses desk every few hours and ask for updates? I don't want to cause a scene or harass the nursing staff. Do I talk to a case manager? Do I leave it alone? I want my dad to have the safest recovery and to ease his anxiety.