Parent Flags Psychosis Care After 7 ER Visits
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- The child (13) is experiencing psychosis and autism, with repeated calming medication injections causing a bruised shoulder and an orange bandage.
- The family made seven emergency department visits over four months, each resulting in temporary stabilization and discharge without a durable follow‑up plan.
- The hospital admitted the child for inpatient care after the parents pursued it, then discharged him after seven days with a generic safety plan and previously tried strategies.
- Clinicians often attribute the child's behavior to tantrums, parental reinforcement, puberty, or autism, despite the parent's observation that psychosis presents differently.
- The hospital operates with siloed specialists who work in parallel, leading to fragmented information and requiring the parent to repeatedly translate and coordinate care.
- The parent recommends a designated care coordinator, interdisciplinary case conferences, and trauma‑informed training for staff to address systemic fragmentation.
- The staff (nurse, floor nurse, psychiatry physician) provided compassionate support, showing that individual care can be human despite systemic failures.
Why it matters: Children with complex neurodevelopmental and psychiatric needs suffer functional loss when hospitals rely on short, insurance‑driven admissions and leave coordination to parents; a dedicated care coordinator and interdisciplinary case conferences would give families a clear point of contact and could halt the cycle of repeated emergency visits.
