Privacy on the Hospital Ward

Dickens

Fleurpepper

Spent 7.5 months in hospital when I was 19/20- 4.5 months in traction and on my back, with a pin through my knee and clock weights at the end of the bed to try and pull by smashed femur into shape. 3 beds, but only females. No TV, no internet, no phones, so thank goodness for the company. One lady next to me was in her 50s and had attempted suicide, and was in for a couple of months when I was totally dependent, and she was wonderful. Others came and went. They were asked to leave the room when I was bed washed and had to use the potty (oh I hated that bit).

...No TV, no internet, no phones

Of gosh, I'd forgotten there was a time when we didn't have those things to distract ourselves.

4/5 months in traction - my goodness, I can only imagine - the days must have dragged!

Oh yes, they did, and thank goodness for the other two, who changed regularly, and helped out and cheered me up. And the nurses, from all over the world.

Hate needlework at school, but learnt to crochet and embroider as impossible to read all the time. I had my 20th BD still in traction, and a few months later, our wedding!

From the days when doctors wore white coats, I can tell a story which sounds unbelievable but true.
A patient needed an anal examination. On the next ward round the DR. asked if Mr ? had been to see the patient and examined. The patient's reply was "I think he has someone stuck his finger up my backside but he didn't have a white coat." When asked who they did not know they had been so frightened they missed the name. The patient was in a ward on their own and there were a lot of workmen about. Anyone could have put a pair of rubber gloves on. It doesn't bare thinking about.

lemsip

I was visiting on an elderly persons ward recently where comodes were quite obviously used and the resulting smell that filled the ward was awful....

There's often little ventilation.

In the hospital I was in their remedy was to spray around the ward with the most pungent air-freshener which I can only describe as smelling like someone was burning oranges - it was hideous. My partner when visiting had to exit the ward when they used it because it made him gag.

I was offered the commode a couple of times, but decided to attempt to use the toilet - one feels so exposed with just a curtain between you and the next bed, and it's so unpleasant for the rest of the patients. Unavoidable though for some patients. It's all so primitive.

I was visiting on an elderly persons ward recently where comodes were quite obviously used and the resulting smell that filled the ward was awful....

Yammy

Dickens, you must have felt so vulnerable, I know the shock when I saw the nude man at least he was unconscious. The other chap wanted to help the nurses but the open ward allowed him to wander where he wanted to. I think he had mental issues possibly Alzheimer it was a huge Urology ward with bays for males and females.
I really feel for you being there for so long. I must admit whilst being in a single-bed ward I felt even more vulnerable as I was immobile and could have done nothing if approached. It's not the nursing staff's fault it's whoever designs these buildings it makes you wonder if they ever consult with the people who have to work in them or the ill patients.
My mother when in her 80s was on a ward of women but one insisted on getting into bed with them another went into their bedside cupboards and took money. Luckily it was a local cottage hospital and they all knew each other the wanderer was eventually moved nearer the nursing station,the other they just asked for their money back.

Still groggy I was taken up to the ward and fell asleep only to be awakened by someone pulling my teeth. I managed to ask what was going on and they said they had miss placed someone's dentures.

... but that takes some beating Yammy

Couldn't they have waited until you'd come round? It's almost assault... ye Gods!

My husband stayed in a mixed ward - where the poor woman opposite, of Muslim faith, was entirely (and permanently) covered in sheets and behind shut curtains.

I've never felt safe in hospital, always sleepless and on red alert. Since the (horribly traumatising) tonsils op at 4 yrs old, I've only been in for childbirth. The first was a caesarean, so I had my own room.

They suddenly moved me into a ward, (as you had to stay for ten days) where I just had a complete meltdown and swiftly went back to a single room.

I simply couldn't tolerate sharing, due to a sudden phobia of germs and concern for my child's safety. I felt I had to guard him, so avoided company, touching or interaction - the staff were surprised.

The NHS doesn't (or didn't) make adjustments for those of us with mild autism - and there's no solution for claustrophobia.

For the other births, we paid for single rooms - or did the 6 hour discharge. Since then, I've tried (twice) to have tooth extractions, under anaesthetic - but had to leave as I can't stay in bed or tolerate waiting either. My friend says I need darting in the open air - like a wild animal, so if I ever have to stay, I'll be the one screaming blue murder, for no apparent reason!

Dickens, you must have felt so vulnerable, I know the shock when I saw the nude man at least he was unconscious. The other chap wanted to help the nurses but the open ward allowed him to wander where he wanted to. I think he had mental issues possibly Alzheimer it was a huge Urology ward with bays for males and females.
I really feel for you being there for so long. I must admit whilst being in a single-bed ward I felt even more vulnerable as I was immobile and could have done nothing if approached. It's not the nursing staff's fault it's whoever designs these buildings it makes you wonder if they ever consult with the people who have to work in them or the ill patients.
My mother when in her 80s was on a ward of women but one insisted on getting into bed with them another went into their bedside cupboards and took money. Luckily it was a local cottage hospital and they all knew each other the wanderer was eventually moved nearer the nursing station,the other they just asked for their money back.

Fleurpepper

Spent 7.5 months in hospital when I was 19/20- 4.5 months in traction and on my back, with a pin through my knee and clock weights at the end of the bed to try and pull by smashed femur into shape. 3 beds, but only females. No TV, no internet, no phones, so thank goodness for the company. One lady next to me was in her 50s and had attempted suicide, and was in for a couple of months when I was totally dependent, and she was wonderful. Others came and went. They were asked to leave the room when I was bed washed and had to use the potty (oh I hated that bit).

...No TV, no internet, no phones

Of gosh, I'd forgotten there was a time when we didn't have those things to distract ourselves.

4/5 months in traction - my goodness, I can only imagine - the days must have dragged!

Spent 7.5 months in hospital when I was 19/20- 4.5 months in traction and on my back, with a pin through my knee and clock weights at the end of the bed to try and pull by smashed femur into shape. 3 beds, but only females. No TV, no internet, no phones, so thank goodness for the company. One lady next to me was in her 50s and had attempted suicide, and was in for a couple of months when I was totally dependent, and she was wonderful. Others came and went. They were asked to leave the room when I was bed washed and had to use the potty (oh I hated that bit).

I had major emergency bowel surgery, bed bound, immobile and remember feeling very vulnerable on the ward as all sorts of people came and went. Rather like a butterfly with a pin through it stuck in the bed..
I like being on a ward with other people, but my (apparently) deafening operatic snoring embarrasses me😁

Yammy

A few years ago I had a major operation and went in the night before. I was in a four-bed women-only ward. I went to theatre and when I came round there was a nude man in the next bed to me. Some nurses came in giggling and covered him up. I asked what was going on they said I was in the recovery ward and it was mixed. Why could they not tell me beforehand?
Still groggy I was taken up to the ward and fell asleep only to be awakened by someone pulling my teeth. I managed to ask what was going on and they said they had miss placed someone's dentures.
To top it all the food was so appalling the visitors brought in food, When supper had been served an orderly came to collect and quipped "OH feeding of the five thousand", she was taking away all kinds that had never been served.
I have also been woken up early by an elderly man with a catheter bag on a stand asking if I wanted a cup of tea.No thanks not after what your displaying was my answer in my head but just said no thanks.

During my 4-month stay - single-sex bays, but mixed wards - there was a male patient who insisted on continually going into the women's bays. He walked up and down as if he was looking for something, or someone.

The nurses - when they weren't rushed off their feet attending to other patients, guided him back into his room (he had a single room) placating him at the same time reminding him that he should not go into the female bays.

After the third time he came into our bay, I told him that he should not be "in here". He became aggressive and asked "why?" and I explained, politely, that it was a single-sex female bay, at which point he got really angry and started muttering about "f***ing women" making vague threats about what he thought should 'happen' to them.

I told one of the nurses - there were some quite poorly women in the bay and a couple were alarmed because they heard what he was saying. The nurse sighed and apologised and said that there was nothing they could do about it. I suggested that they lock him in his room but, of course, they were not allowed to do that.

I think they should have called Security - he might have listened to them as opposed to a bunch of "f***ing women". Ultimately he was given medication and fell asleep and there was no more trouble (he was moved to a male bay afterward).

I vowed to myself that if he came into our bay one more time issuing threats that I would call the Police. Rightly or wrongly, women who are frail, elderly and in a vulnerable position should not have to put up with this kind of behaviour, and rely on a stressed and short-staffed workforce to protect them. I'm sure he had MH issues and that's not his fault, but as we knew nothing about him we obviously didn't know whether he was a danger or not - and I don't think the nurses knew enough to evaluate the situation.

A few years ago I had a major operation and went in the night before. I was in a four-bed women-only ward. I went to theatre and when I came round there was a nude man in the next bed to me. Some nurses came in giggling and covered him up. I asked what was going on they said I was in the recovery ward and it was mixed. Why could they not tell me beforehand?
Still groggy I was taken up to the ward and fell asleep only to be awakened by someone pulling my teeth. I managed to ask what was going on and they said they had miss placed someone's dentures.
To top it all the food was so appalling the visitors brought in food, When supper had been served an orderly came to collect and quipped "OH feeding of the five thousand", she was taking away all kinds that had never been served.
I have also been woken up early by an elderly man with a catheter bag on a stand asking if I wanted a cup of tea.No thanks not after what your displaying was my answer in my head but just said no thanks.

Luckygirl3

The best thing about single rooms is having your own loo - bliss.

Oh I second that!

After bowel surgery, going to the loo (from the other end of the ward) was something I dreaded... 90% of the time the toilet had to be 're-flushed', the seat and the floor wiped, and people's forgotten nightwear and personal toiletries moved out of the way on the narrow shelving. Not to mention the pee and poo samples stacking up in all the available spaces.

I noticed also that so many patients simply padded along to the toilet in their bare feet, or in those sock-slippers that the NHS provide - and then get straight back into bed. I'm sure that was an infection risk I always wore slippers - but they kept disappearing under the bed every time someone came to the bedside... no matter where I put them out of the way (so I thought), they would invariably end up under the bed, too far out of reach for someone with staples in their abdomen.

My partner brought me in a walking stick and a mega size pack of anti-bacterial wipes. The walking stick was to hook out the slipper(s) from under the bed , and the wipes for the frequent cleaning-sessions in the toilet - and the bedside table.

I was a patient for 4 months. The saving grace was that the nurses had arranged for me to have a bed by a door at the end of the ward that led out on to a balcony with tables and chairs - and a fantastic view from a height, over The Cotswolds. Unfortunately, Health & Safety deemed it a risk after a few weeks went by - someone had jumped off a similar balcony in a suicide bid, so all the balconies (with their expensive seasoned-oak furniture) were similarly closed off and the doors locked... doors that allowed a very welcome breath of air in the hot and stuffy wards. I did still have the view though.

Cabbie sorry your husband is having an awful time on the ward. I always wanted to get home as soon as possible luckily over the years the longest I had to stay in hospital was 11 days and shortest 5 days. Glad to say all the times I have been in it was on single sex wards. Which I was glad of.

Hopefully he will be home with you soon .

DH is now on his third ward in 3 and a half weeks and was also moved within two of the wards, so that is five different locations!
The latest is not pleasant. He is in a bay with four beds, but it is cramped. Yesterday one chap had loads of visitors ( it is meant to be two ) and they brought in Indian take-aways, so it was noisy and smelly too. Add to that the constant bleeps and frequent interruptions for blood tests etc - there is no peace even at night. He can't wait to leave and is threatening to discharge himself if it doesn't happen soon. There is also a sign on the door saying there is a case of Covid on the ward. I didn't tell him that or he would have left at once, even in his PJs.

Sending very best wishes Cabbie21

I have just had unrestricted visiting as DH’s condition was critical, and his daughter stayed on the ward two nights, but it is a locked ward and even in visiting hours you still have to say on the intercom who you are visiting in order to be let in. I can’t imagine how the situation Caleo described should ever happen.

I don’t recognise open visiting as meaning 24/7, I’ve worked in a number of hospitals in my career, and open visiting meant any time between 12 and 8.30, not late evenings. Smaller hospitals lock the main doors for the night, and larger ones have security staff at the main entrances and in A&E, so it’s very strange that somebody from outside was on a ward late in the evening. The nurse in charge should have reported what happened Caleo so that the incident could be investigated, to avoid that happening again.

Caleo

Yes, Glorianni, I came to the conclusion that , if so called "open visiting" was a management decision , the ward sister should have made a stand . In my days as a nurse the ward sister or the night superintendant would not have permitted 'open visiting'.

That ward was like Waverley Station!

That sounds like a night mare and equally unsafe for the staff and patients. What would happen if an abusive man decided to enter late at night and a single female nurse was on duty? Was there no one to stop people?

Yes, Glorianni, I came to the conclusion that , if so called "open visiting" was a management decision , the ward sister should have made a stand . In my days as a nurse the ward sister or the night superintendant would not have permitted 'open visiting'.

That ward was like Waverley Station!

In the cardiac unit where DH is at the moment there are bays with four beds, and a few single rooms, all grouped round a central area, where staff constantly monitor banks of screens showing each patient’s obs. Staff in the bays too of course. Quietest time is meal time, though if you need help to eat it is not ideal as staff tend to keep away.
Last evening a chap was admitted, not very ill, announced many times to all and sundry that he needed his privacy so his curtains must be kept closed, then proceeded backwards and forwards to the bathroom three times in just his boxers! Then he was constantly talking on the phone in a loud voice! Everyone was glad when he went home this morning.

There's a doorbell at our ward with a video camera so I doubt anyone could just walk in. Thank goodness. The patients here are very vulnerable.

Caleo

Glorianni, After 11pm one night a man in ordinary outdoor clothes walked up the ward . When night nurse came round with the meds trolley I told her a strange man had just walked up to the top of the ward. Nurse said with a sad smile that there was "open visiting". The security was shocking.

What an odd hospital. You wouldn't get past the reception desk in our local one and if you managed to sneak in there are security guards ready to ask you what you are doing.

Dragonfly, maybe the Polish nurse was brought to the girl's bedside for a therapeutic purpose such as if the Polish patient had been depressed.

My husband was in Addenbrookes recently, open ward and very noisy. The care from the nurses is first class but it was chaotic there. They just do not have enough staff to get the tests completed.
We have also had to visit Papworth and Edith Cavell in Peterborough and again first class caring staff. Much calmer atmosphere.