My family has always had a policy of never leaving a family member alone in the hospital. When my grandmother was dying, the children and grandchildren took shifts. When my mother had surgery and was in for almost a week, I stayed in the hospital while my sister stayed home and took care of the house.
My first son was born with a heart defect where the cardiologist wanted his oxygen saturation kept at 90%. My wife and I would spend 12 hours at the hospital then go home and sleep and return the next morning. One morning we came in to find his oxygen saturation at 100%. When I dared read the chart a nurse came over and asked me not to, but that she could arrange for a staff member to explain it to me. I asked if she was my son's nurse and if she had been thoroughly briefed on his condition. She said yes. Then I asked if she had read the chart, specifically the cardiologist's instructions. She got a scared look on her face. Then I handed her the chart open to the correct page and asked her to explain what those instructions meant since I had no medical training and she was responsible for the care of my child. I told her when I read the instructions it made me think either I was misunderstanding the orders or she was trying to kill my child. When she actually read the chart she immediately began reaching for the oxygen supply and I told her to stop and step aside. I dialed it down to the correct volume which brought his oxygen saturation down to precisely 90%. Then I suggested this would be a good time for her to find the patient care representative and arrange to have another nurse replace her.
That was when I started sleeping at the hospital.