The Big Hospital Experiment

I've just watched this on iPlayer. It's brilliant. I have cried but it's also been heart-warming to see some of these young people trying so hard, and the effect their engagement has had on the patients. I shall definitely watch it next week.

The patient with Crohn's was amazing, as Ellen has said, and also the volunteers Deborah and Poppy with their elderly patient who responded to them so wonderfully.

I have it recorded but haven’t had the chance to watch it yet. I thought it would be interesting and it sounds as if it is

Having spent all morning unsuccessfully trying to contact the hospital ward that my elderly father is on, I can't help thinking that volunteers might be better employed answering the phone and doing admin tasks rather than nursing!

It would make a very boring TV programme though and that is the bottom line.

Having spent all morning unsuccessfully trying to contact the hospital ward that my elderly father is on, I can't help thinking that volunteers might be better employed answering the phone and doing admin tasks rather than nursing!

I've just watched it on catch-up. Very interesting, I'll definitely be sticking with it (hope the volunteers do too!)

I believe the experiment is based on the system in Germany where young people chose to do military service or civic service (e.g. in a hospital) for a year. Conscription was abolished in 2011 in Germany, but many are calling for its re-introduction.

I know what GP usually stands for. It just didn't occur to me that was what was meant here. I thought it was something different, some abbreviation used on the boards like when people put DS and DD etc

Good grief. That's worrying, it makes you wonder how many girls and women he had groped when they were his patients. He'd have had plenty of opportunities in that role.

GP is general practitioner.
Doctor, in other words.

Luckygirl, how long ago was that? And what does GP stand for?

Oh - that reminds me of an incident as a SW when I first started work at the local hospital. An ancient retired GP was in a single room on his own and I had to go and see him, as his housekeeper had given notice and he was not able to look after himself. When I came out the nurses were all laughing - "Did he grope you?" they asked - and indeed he had. I told him he was a dirty old bugger (or words to that effect) - and that any help he might need to organise care at home was not going to come from me. It was interesting how everyone just laughed it off - I suspect/hope that it might be taken more seriously now.

My neighbour said that her school arranged for pupils to visit those in hospital with nobody.
She was sent to visit an old man, but well... his hands got busy under the covers, and she ran out screaming.

Luckygirl, I agree with every word of your last paragraph about the young people spending time with the patients. I think there is a real need for this in our hospitals.

I suppose I was just aware that by the time I reached their age I had seen my grandmother very ill, had a mentally ill grandfather commit suicide, had a placement in an "approved school", been part of a decorating team in inhabited slum properties and worked in a children's home where some of life's cruelties were very apparent.

It was good to see these young people spending time just talking to the patients and encouraging them to eat. My recent experience of hospitals is that food is flung onto a table - whether in reach or not - and it is pot luck as to whether it gets eaten. The presence of these young volunteers was helping to fill the gap as far as nutrition was concerned - and with jolly chat thrown in. Excellent.

Yes,I enjoyed the programme as it showed the young people another side to life which will either make or break them. I think all hospitals should give their local youngsters the chance to see what goes on in the various wards/depts. particularly A&E.
The patient with Crohn's was an amazing young chap who put his " helper " at ease. Well done to him. Looking forward to next week.

The feeding of patients can be an enormous help to the staff while they get on with other tasks. Those two girls were marvellous to the elderly patient it was so pleasing to see.

I was thrown in at the deep-end during my training at age 16 !

This was just the first episode of a four part series so as yet we don't know how successful the experiment was.

And as for being sheltered from reality, when I was their age I wouldn't have known much either. We don't all grow up with elderly grandparents or relatives in our lives. Some of us at 20 still had healthy grandparents, or grandparents that died before we were born or just have never really had grandparents in our lives. I think the young people should be given credit for volunteering themselves.

You may be right about being sheltered from reality.
My brother dissuaded his adult sons from visiting their grandmother in the care home where she was living with dementia. Wrongly, in my opinion.

Yes, I did see it Luckygirl. I don't know what purpose the programme served. I hope more youngsters will volunteer. I also hope the young chainsmoker has given up smoking.
The one young girl (I'm terrible with names), she had such a good rapport with the cancer patient. I hope she gets into the caring profession, either as a nurse or doctor.