A Phoenix woman says she was accidentally locked inside an urgent care clinic after staff left for the night, sparking questions about end-of-day protocols.
The patient, who asked to remain anonymous, told Arizona’s Family that she was waiting in an exam room for a prescription when she realized the clinic had closed and everyone had left. When she tried to exit, she triggered an alarm. Eventually, a staff member—who had already left the building—returned to let her out.
Following the incident, the urgent care center’s operator launched an internal review and confirmed that the staff members responsible had been terminated, according to the report.
A Broader Issue in Urgent Care
Alan Ayers, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM, says this kind of mistake isn’t unheard of.
“This is not the first time and probably not the last time this will happen,” Ayers said. “Up to 40% of urgent care centers turn away patients during the last hour of the day, and the staff leave at 8 p.m. sharp.”
According to Ayers, the issue often stems from zero-overtime policies, tight scheduling, or expectations that staff clock out on time—sometimes at the cost of thorough closing procedures.
“When centers lock their doors as staff leaves at the posted closing time, patients either get turned away prior to closing or end-of-day checklists go unexecuted,” he added.
The incident has drawn attention to the importance of clear closing protocols and ensuring every patient has safely left the premises before locking up.
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