My mom saw him briefly and they told her they were moving him to a room for the night and he would be going home tomorrow after lunch. At 8:00pm she called and said no one had called her and she was worried because when she called the hospital they put her on hold and when they finally came back she said they were moving him to extended stay. Won't tell her why. She called again and they said they had no patient by that name. When I heard this I called and couldn't get through so I called the emergency room and they told me he was still in surgery. I was at the hospital at 10:00 am when they said we could see him at 2:00. I had to leave but mom stayed. So then I called the general admittance number and after a very long wait I'm talking up to a half hour on the four or five calls I made with an inquirery for transfer to extended stay and finally after almost threatening her I said ALMOST I was finally transfered to extended stay where I spoke briefly with a nurse that said he had JUST gotten there. Now it's like 9:00 at night, almost 12 full hours since he got OUT of surgery which by the way they finished a half hour early from their original timeline which I though was weird. She said she would have my father get in touch with my mother shortly. He didn't seem to know why he was there. We still do not know where he was in the meantime. We got all this conflicting information. My dad said they were sending in another doctor to see him the next day he didn't know why and to date not one doctor, nurse social workier or anyone has called us. My dad was still extremely active and coherent right up to the day of his surgery. Is it normal practice for doctors to let loved ones sit home and get worried sick? My father is very much loved and has no querey about his WIFE that he still lives with and very much loves knowing whats going on. HE doesn't know what's going on. We can't seem to get any answers and neither of us can drive at night. SO What do I do? >:
I agree, if you are not listed on the HIPPA form as someone Dad has listed they can give info to, then they won't say more than "he is comfortable".
Same with Mom, unless she has POA, Dad has to list her too. They have no idea who is on the phone.
Usually a hospital has an information desk which is open during the day. One can find out from the Staff or volunteers [I work this desk as a volunteer] what are the best in-house phone numbers to call.
And it is not unusual to call a hospital and get zero information if your name isn't on the HIPAA form. Chances are only your Mom was listed on the form, and with stress she could easily not understand everything that was going on. And, of course, your Dad would be in a fog after surgery, that is very normal. For every hour of being under, it usually takes 1 month for every hour to get rid of that brain fog.
Hopefully everything is back on track today regarding communication. And your Dad will be coming home soon, if not today. Tell your Mom that her hubby will be dazed for a few weeks, and that it is normal. I remember after my Dad had a surgery, the next day he wanted to get out of the hospital bed to go downstairs to pay his hotel bill.
He was in the recovery room for several hours, which is standard procedure.
You called the ER, which is not where he was.
You called admissions. He was not being admitted; he was in observation status most likely.
This is what hospitals are like. And most patients are fairly confused after anesthesia. At least mine is.
Next time, before leaving the hospital, you need to secure the contact number for where dad is being moved to. Hospitals do not give out patient info over the phone.