My recent admission has left me feeling abit mad really over the 8 years ive been going in and out of hospital no body has ever said i could not use my phone ..this recent admission there were posters everywhere on the ward i am on saying all mobile phones to be turned off this furiates me as at heartlands they dont care ..and have never at my local !!untill now .I never use it on ITU or CCU or if there is a ward round going on or if i have a very poorly patient next to me whos relatives are with them just out of respect really...
It makes me mad that i cant use it but doctors walk round freely using theres and nurses keep theres in there pocket recieving texts ...if they say no phones it should be one rule for all and every hospital as its all very confusing when ur moved around hospitals for shared care..
does anyone else have this problem at there hospital ?
moan over love roxy x
15 Replies
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Hi Roxy
Can't have one rule for the staff and another for the patients its not on. Only recently I recall an article on the BBC news about Mobile Phones and hospitals and if I remember correctly the government wanted people encouraged to use phones in hospitals particularly patients so that they could keep in contact with their friends and family.
Get well soon
Katina and Lottie Dog
I'd be annoyed too. Although there have been some posters up when I've been on the ward, no one has paid attention to them and the doctors/nurses all have phones anyway. Last time I was in a side room and the doctors encouraged me to have a phone - they made sure that the person who called the ambulance and came in with me got my phone for me!
I think as long as it doesn't interfere with medical equipment (and that can't be the case if docs/nurses are using them) they should be encouraged as it does (at least I find it does) cheer me up to have a text from someone and to know that if I need something I can text someone. Provided they are used respectfully, I can't see the problem - I do get annoyed, especially when I'm feeling really poorly, if people are yelling into their phones or using them very late at night.
The cynical side of me would say that maybe they're enforcing this rule to make you spend lots of money on PatientLine!
Re: Mobile Phones in Hospitals
I know how annoying it is when someone is ill and the old dear in the next bed is shouting into a phone - mobile or otherwise. 8 (
Paisley's RAH - has dropped the no mobile rule. As long as they are not used by a patient all hooked up to this and that, as in ICU or HDU, its probably fine. I think it was found the interference from the radios the porters use is worse.
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness - has a detector that catches you as you leave the canteen area to walk along the corridors. Loud bell goes off. The notice telling you about it, isn't that obvious and its so funny watching the visitors trying to work out what sets it off. I spent an hour waiting for my husband to come pick me up and had to silently giggle into my book every time it happened. 8 )
when i was in the Alex, they let me use mine on the ward, but i was only allowed to text and not allowed when the doctors were seeing me. Even let me keep my psp on me as well which was nice
I had no problems last time i was in except one day when a certain very moody nurse who didn't seem to like me much anyway said something (she said i couldnt use my laptop either....) The next day the ward sister practically encouraged me to do both.
Failing that get a book and hide your phone behind it! Just make sure you turn the pages everso often!!!
ive never been discouraged from using my mobile on the wards one nurse was even showing me her pictures on her phone so they obvousily not to bothered bout phones
Hi, Roxy, i was just going to say the government have passed a new rule saying phones should be allowed to help patients keep in contact with there friends and family, but it appears katina has beaten me too it.
Plumie
It does annoy me. On our assessment ward we are not allowed phones but then the drs use them. Once we off the assessment ward and on other wards you are allowed phones. We not allowed phones in icu or hdu and the drs dont use them but to be honest i have never felt well enough to use it when i have been in icu or hdu so its not so much of an issue.
I do know that mobiles dont interfere with xrays as the number of times in a and e when i ahve been unwell and hgad my phone on silent in my pocket but not really been aware enough to take it out of pocket and had xray with it on so it doesnt effect them.
Just my tuppence worth!!!
Olive
Just a thought I was told one hospital banned them because of people taking photos without seeking permission and at times which were deeply distressing, apparently a crash call appeared on a you tube once. Since pretty much all phones have cameras these days they banned the use of mobiles on the wards but you could use them in the corridors.
Iwas in CCU last month and wired up to monitors and i asked a nurse about mobiles and they basically said text and she watched my monitor to see if it interfered and it didn't so carried on.I never use it in ITU OR hdu. On my usual wards i have no probs and like others say you regularly see nurses/Drs using theirs but obviously we must respect other people too. I also have a pocket surfer which is Internet access and works on mobile signals and had no probs using that in CCU or main ward.
My phone keeps me sane during admissions as there is no way my family can afford the Pantsline costs.
Hi guys im glad im not the only one who it annoys lol!!!
I pritty sure that there is no written evidence that phones effect monitors or any hospital equip ...i know a few ppl who have pacemakers and use mobiles without a prob...
And me being naughty also use it in petrol stations untill someone shouts across the tannoy ""TURN THAT PHONE OFF"" LOL
maybe its just me having a groan cus stills stuck in and fed up ..
From an IT point of view, there was a white paper a few years ago that proved that mobile phones *don't* affect medical computer systems OR the navigation/guidance systems on aeroplanes, making a mockery of the ""no phones on aeroplanes"" rule that most airlines trot out on a regular basis. Apparently it's now against the rules on most planes to even use a phone in ""flight mode"" where the radio transceiver is turned off! What utter rubbish - I assume that it's because a lot of folks (myself included) use their phones as mp3 players, but the airline would rather you paid £3 for a crappy set of headphones with which to listen to their radio stations, all of which will be rubbish.
But I digress...
On the other hand, with phones being electrical devices, there is a very real risk that using one on a petrol station forecourt will result in a catastrophic and painful explosion - after all, petrol vapour is more explosive than liquid petrol.
Not quite as bad as the bloke on a local forecourt who lit a cigarette whilst filling his car, causing the station manager to ""lock down"" the fuel pumps whilst all the drivers filling up ran for thier lives (and I looked on, aghast, from inside the shop)...!
My Local has relaxed the rules but I still ask when on a new ward if I can use my phone. I wouldn't use it in A&E, HDU ITU etc ( though not usuallt well enough to speak anyway). I text quite a bit but also Mum phones me on it to bypass Pants Line costs.
No one has a phone that loud on the ward, though the other morning, I was in the loo and I could hear my phone 'Gribbetting' from across the Bay! LOL!
Regards camera phones, the old couple next to me were using theirs to take photos of her foot which was going black!
Regards sound, I find set on vibrate makes enough of a racket for text messages as the phone travels along the table!
Kate
Hi,
I'm surgically attached to my phone! My local hospital also doesn't have patientline or any payphones so I have no choice but to use my mobile. I text all the time, from any ward (including HDU) but only use it to speak to people in the corridoors. The medical assesment unit does have 'no phones' sign up, I have to admit I ignore them.
I also work on the same hospital. My phone is always in my pocket on silent.
I think it's common sense really. Although I may use my phone whilst an inpatient to text my boyfriend I would never use it on a train for hours on end- to me that's rude.
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