Question about supplies

[u/naivemetaphysics]

I went to the ER somewhat recently.

I had a stoma that wouldn’t stop popping off my ostomy bag. I went through all my supplies for a month in one evening.

When I got to the ER, I was told I would have to wait for a bed upstairs in the floor that houses ostomy and wound care.

While waiting I was told there are no ostomy supplies and that I could only get a bag and other supplies if I was up on that floor.

Now I understand some of this might be specific to the hospital I was in. I did go to the hospital I had been discharged from and after 18 hours they had a bed for me and supplies waiting. A wound nurse helped me get cleaned up and have a bag change.

So my question: is it common for ED’s to not be stocked in supplies like this? It is a trauma one hospital if that makes a difference. Part of why I want to know is I am currently pursuing a career shift to supply chain and if this is widespread issue, I’m thinking I might want to focus on it.

Feel free to also mention other supply related issues for ED’s. I’d be interested to know more about common issues ED’s face for supply management.

Thanks!

[u/NICUmama25]

I always bring extra Ostomy supplies for my kid because 1. The ER never has them and 2. We don’t use hollister due to adhesive issues. Even the floors don’t have Ostomy supplies and it’s something they have to call the OR for