UPMC issue

Submitted by Sheherblackbitch t3_zuens5 in pittsburgh

Hey Pittsburgh, this is my first time posting in this subreddit but my family and I are new to the city and having some trouble at UPMC in Oakland.

So basically my brother signed himself into Western Psych after having an anxiety attack and he’s been there four days. Yesterday he called and said he didn’t feel safe and wanted to go home, we didn’t really plan to take him because he hadn’t been seen by a doctor yet but when we arrived the charge nurse was agitated and told us he had just “flipped out” and there was no way we’d be able to see him, well ofc we persisted- albeit calmly and cordially, what does flipped out even mean? Yk, and she was like ~it is what it is~ closes the door in our faces and has security walk us out, rude and unprofessional. So now today we aren’t allowed to see him because he’s more upset and not behaving how they want him to. It’s Christmas Eve and he wants to see his family I think anyone would be unruly and I don’t get why if he checked himself in that he can’t just be released if he doesn’t feel like he’s being treated fairly. I just don’t get it like we’re not residents so how can they just keep him?

-Long story short, we’ve been trying to reach some sort of patient rights but they’re not in the building/not answering phones… who are you supposed to talk to when there is suspected mistreatment happening?

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ChinaLouise t1_j1inusm wrote

You don't have any rights, you're a visitor not a patient. And you can't just sign him out either, he needs to sign a three day notice and a doctor will evaluate him within three days and then either release him or commit him

Edit: he agreed to all this when he signed himself in. It's called a voluntary -commitment- meaning he is under care of the hospital. Mental patients aren't allowed to just leave

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[deleted] t1_j1iqf6m wrote

Do you know if he has signed any sort of medical information release to share info with listed people (you/family)?

They're very strict with patient info sharing and even info entered into their system is under an extra layer of protection that keeps it from being visible to just general UPMC facilities.

Once admitted, if it was voluntary he will be able to self-discharge IF a psychiatrist evaluates him and finds he isn't a risk of harm to himself or others, and AFTER I think 3 days.

The conditions inside certainly aren't fun, although he should be safe. Staff on hand all the time, TV and maybe an exercise bike in a common area, a private but sparse room.

If you have any sort of medical release to speak with his mental health providers or even a PCP you can see if they're able to reach out to WPIC, but if he's never signed anything to share info it will be difficult.

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ChinaLouise t1_j1itlg0 wrote

I've been in there more times than fingers to count on. If op tells me what floor he's on I can tell her what it's like. Although the only "bad" floor is the 9th floor and it's only "bad" because that's where the psychotic patients are held and they are often loud and weird. No matter what he's going to be safe, warm, well fed and probably ignored

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Slothmancer t1_j1j59st wrote

I work in assisted living in small home settings, one of our guys is psychotic and is absolutely loud and weird, much more of a danger to himself than others. He's generally fine, I think he's only gone there once in the 3ish years I've been with the company. Thankfully his sister takes him for holidays, and she got him early this year because of the storm, so it's been blissfully quiet in the house.

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ChinaLouise t1_j1j7dzy wrote

That's why I made sure to put "bad" in quotes.. it's not really bad, just perceived that was because patients can make a fuss. They aren't actually dangerous or violent, just sometimes annoying. It also means that the staff is going to be a lot more busy on that floor

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Slothmancer t1_j1kqw9n wrote

Oh I'm not trying to make anyone out to be dangerous, I can only speak to the experiences of one of the guys I help take care of. He can be violent but 99/100 times, it's directed at himself and even that is pretty rare. By and large, they're fine if a little weird and annoying like you said.

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Big_League227 t1_j1j3xl9 wrote

Your brother has the right to speak to his insurance company, his county advocate (ombudsman), and his attorney. Unless he signed an information release (ROI) for one of you, you can't speak to any of those folks on his behalf. But if HE asks to speak to any of the above, they have to give him the phone to speak to them. He has that right as the patient. That doesn't mean they can get him released, but they may be able to talk him through the process so he knows what to expect. WPIC is not going to let you in to visit because his anxiety may be related to his family... they don't know, especially if he "hasn't been seen by a doctor " as you stated. And a friend who would know (former WPIC employee) tells me that he was seen by someone in order to leave the ER and be admitted. It may have been a PA or a CNP, but someone determined he needed to be admitted.

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vinylscratch27 t1_j1iykx3 wrote

Western Psych can be jarring, but he'll be safe. I've been there a time or two.

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doctrine1530 t1_j1j7mdo wrote

One Avenue would be to reach out to the Spiritual Care office. Especially this time of year they will be in the facility. They can at least give a visit that’s not part of the leadership.

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joy4114 t1_j1kb861 wrote

They could have committed him to a 302 possibly and would be required to stay 72hrs. Not sure the details but if he is not safe then they wouldn’t allow visitors. You could ask a social worker in the hospital? You could also call dhs-directors action line 412-473-2000 if you’re upset with his treatment. They oversee WPIC. And agreed with previous poster about an ROI. There are serious HIPPA regs for mh and keeping members protected so if he hasn’t signed one for you unfortunately there isn’t much they can tell you.

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ClammyHandedFreak t1_j1iuiag wrote

I really don't know anything about this kind of thing. Hope your brother and everyone in your family can find some peace no matter the circumstance over the weekend here.

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