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Quiet on the wards!
Andy2
Posts: 11,949 Forum Member
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2659540/Nurses-banned-chatting-allow-patients-sleep-properly-union-says.html
Royal College of Nursing is urging hospitals to display 'quiet please' signs
Also encouraging all hospitals to install quiet slow-closing doors and bins
Claims patients deprived of sleep are at higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, constant pain, aggression and delayed wound healing.
It's no joke. I recently spent 10 days in hospital and the noise at night was horrendous. The overnight staff spent ages moving stuff about and generally making a racket. They were constantly in and out of one of the offices (it happened to be just across the corridor from our bay), every time letting the door slam. After a few nights of this, I pointed out that we were trying to sleep and asked them to be quiet, but the look of disdain was enough to put me off my breakfast. Absolutely no consideration at all.
The rest of my care was brilliant and so was the food, but the noise!
Royal College of Nursing is urging hospitals to display 'quiet please' signs
Also encouraging all hospitals to install quiet slow-closing doors and bins
Claims patients deprived of sleep are at higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, constant pain, aggression and delayed wound healing.
It's no joke. I recently spent 10 days in hospital and the noise at night was horrendous. The overnight staff spent ages moving stuff about and generally making a racket. They were constantly in and out of one of the offices (it happened to be just across the corridor from our bay), every time letting the door slam. After a few nights of this, I pointed out that we were trying to sleep and asked them to be quiet, but the look of disdain was enough to put me off my breakfast. Absolutely no consideration at all.
The rest of my care was brilliant and so was the food, but the noise!
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But if noise is a big problem for people on wards now then I hope this helps.
Our local hospital used to have two wards that specialised in dementia especially patients who would be shouting and walking about all night. They had extra staff on there and contained the noisy patients to one ward. Every 6 months they alternated between the wards so the nurses got a bit of time off. Due to budget cuts they closed down one of the wards and now its a nightmare.
The patients who wouldve gone to that ward are now spread out on other wards keeping everyone awake at night.
What i think they could do is either open the ward back up, or open up one of the few closed wards for patients who are struggling to sleep so they get a bit of rest after a few days of not sleeping.
Some things you cant avoid. The obs machines can be noisy when pushed around but you cant carry them everywhere.
Then every time you nod off they're over waking you up for your meds.
You can't really get a rest in hospital.
Last time I was in hosp [2008] we had set visiting and afternoon quiet time after lunch. I was in there 2.5 months, it took me ages to get out of the afternoon nap habit when I got discharged.
I don't think it was on all wards. I've visited friends in the same hosp on different wards, and they have open visiting all day. The ward I was on was an acute ward tho so that may be why.
I can't say it was especially noisy at night. Considering we were right by the sluice room. The staff were very considerate in that way. They were wonderful in everyway tbh.
I did get a very rude awakening one night though. Woke up to find a male patient looming right over me, lifing my covers and trying to get in bed with me. I was on all sorts of pain killers at the time, so it did give me a bit of a turn
The next night I went for a walk to get a cup of hot chocolate from the vending machine cos I couldn't sleep, and when I got back he was actually in my bed lol.
Not sure what he was in for, but he had learning difficulties, and his bed was in the same position as mine in the next bay. Bless him.
I think those days are very long gone. This used to happen on children's wards - not sure whether it still does.
I started my nursing career in the 70's and I don't remember a quiet hour after lunch...although it's a lovely idea. However, not sure whether it can be now be practical.
I wouldn't know...still a nurse but not worked in an hospital environment for over 10 years.
Luckily, she signed herself out one night and the next patient was lovely and quiet.
once at night when i was in hospital 6 years ago with pneumonia i was coughing so loudly i was told off by the nurse (wasn't my bloody fault i couldn't stop coughing) and moved to a side room so i wouldn't disturb the other patients, noise does happen in a hospital ward
When I had my second child, the baby opposite screamed all through the night. Nothing would settle him. It was impossible to get any sleep. Morning came around and he was still crying constantly and someone asked the parents if his nappy had been changed recently. The mother said his nappy hadn't been changed at all since he'd been born the previous day. They didn't realise they had to change his nappy because "no one told us." The poor little thing eventually settled after he was finally changed.
The last time i was in Hospital after a major emergency 'op' i was only too glad of the daily activity with Nursing staff buzzing around the ward. In fact by far the worst experience came when i got stuck in a room on my own. It nearly drove me mad! Thankfully i was back on the ward again after a few days.
I had the same sort of situation (minus the gospel singing
As others have said, the nurses now are very noisy and seem to wear hob-nailed boots as they stamp up and down the wards, throwing items about with a loud clatter.
I remember when they used to have a quiet hour usually between one and two in the afternoon before the visitors came in for the afternoon. It was a nice rest and the blinds were drawn and the nurses were quiet. The last time I remember this happening was in 1999 when I was in there. It is a shame that has stopped now.
I keep reading this, on here and in the media, but matrons have been back in most hospitals for years. Just because they're professional women nowadays and not the supposed domineering, controlling women of the past, the general public don't seem to have noticed they're long back.
Quiet hour was stopped by doctors who felt it was more beneficial for patients to see them then sleep
I guess this is why, in the good old days, everyone got sleeping pills.
I (night sister for want of better description) often get called by relatives/patients who want to complain about an ill person being noisy. Or dementia patients being noisy. Always during the evening though. Most times if a dementia patient is noisy/wandering they have a HCA with them all night or we try to put them in side rooms.
Slamming doors a lot of times are patients going in and out for ****