UKC

Good news for some -- Patients in hospitals are to be allowed to make and receive calls using their mobile phones in England.

And now for the rant!

My mum has been in hospital for some time, and for a while the only way of contacting her was via the bedside 'patientline' ripoff service. Inbound calls cost 39p a minute off peak and 49p a minute at peak times -- it can take over a minute for all the recorded instructions to play through before you can even dial the bedside number, and a further couple of minutes before anyone can pick the phone up. If a patient is bed bound and the nursing staff have moved the console out of the patients reach it can take nearly minutes before tha call is automatically terminated leaving the patient extremely frustrated and the caller out of pocket.

My sister and other family members who live a long way away from my Mum will be mightily releived that we can speak to her on a daily basis without it costing the earth.

Three cheers for common sense.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

"I'm on my way into theatre" sounds more impressive than "I'm on the train"

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

Patientline is indeed a complete rip. Outbound calls are cheaper, but not by much. Essentially the patient and relatives are paying for the installation of tens of thousands of bedside machines over the past ten years or so, as well as the cost of providing the actual calls. It has to be acknowledged that the arrival of Patientline has made hospital stays a bit more pleasant for patients who weren't well enough to trek down to the television room on the ward, or to reach the payphones.

Totally stuffs their business plan, really. Win-win for the NHS.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

I'm currently in a ward with no mobile signal - although there was a signal in the first room I was in, and no-one was stopping me use my mobile there.

so just because you are allowed to use a mobile doesn't necesssarily mean you can, anyway...

||-)

In reply to Dominion:

When Muz was in hospital the fact they tolerated mobile use, within reason, was one of the things that kept me sane-ish...

In reply to Dominion:

Very True signals can be hit and miss depending upon where in the hospital you are located. When my mum was in ITU mobile use was banned beacuse there was so much fancy equipment in use, and anyway most patients in there would not have been able to make or receive calls.

My mum was in a ward on Xmas day when the only signal that could get through was via my son's vodaphone one. BT, Orange and T Mobile phones that other family members had could get no signal. We were able to get my daughter in Canada speak to her Gran nontheless. She's now on a ward with an excellent signal and we've finally got her persuaded to switch the bloody phone on for an hour in the evenings so we can speak to her -- (she's a beggar for turning the phone off unless she wants to make a call out!)

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

I noticed Phones for U had an offer of two phones for £10, you needed to spend £10 top up for each so getting those on Vodaphone may be the answer. Basic Nokia, long battery life that phones and texts only, just need to use within 6 months to keep alive. Handy as spares in the car, the throw away society.

When I was in hospital the only restriction was to have only vibrate alert to avoid disturbing other patients, and told to keep the voice down, though that would be the same with patientline.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

i was in hospital in Sydney in 1996....never had a problem using a mobile in the ward....why the restrictions in the UK?

In reply to Lord of Starkness: That's wierd cause I was talking to my dad on his mobile at hospital shortly after his heart attack.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

Whilst i welcome it, it may have unforseen consequences, with patients suffering from disruption because of the inconsiderate one on the ward who is always talking loudy on their phone, or recieves incoming calls at all times of the night.

In reply to rusty_nails: I design electronic medical devices for use in hospitals e.g. ventilators and various types of monitors.

Mobile phones emit electromagnetic energy which can interfere with other electronic devices e.g. remember years ago how the screen on your CRT monitor wobbled before your old mobile phone sitting on top of it started to ring?

EU legislation deals with Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) very effectively, and systems are designed not to emit interference or be susceptible to interference. While hospitals replace older systems with new technology better able to deal with EMI it has been a wise precaution to ban mobile phone use, particularly in intensive care wards where most of the fancy gagets are.

In reply to Alfinne:

I work in the largest dedicated cardiothoracic facility in Europe and getting folk to switch phones off in sensitive areas is virtually impossible. The worst culprits being medical staff.

In reply to jim robertson:

If you find them doing it repeatedly in sensitive areas take them off them and stick them in a bucket of water. Better a dead phone than dead patient.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

I think common sense should apply. In the hospital I take most patients to, A&E tolerate mobiles in cubicles, but not in Resus. SCBU has no reception anyway, which is just as well due to the machinery involved.

It IS true that mobiles can interfere with signals, but only in some areas does this matter. Generally, patients/families WILL ask before using phones in our ambulances, which is nice. (For the record, there is no problem at all with this where I work - I can't comment for other districts).

In reply to Caralynr:

What is awkward is the use of machines that seem to do the same job, such as morphine drips but some are susceptible to interference and another one is not. When I see those and heart monitors my phone is off till I know it is safe, but I have spent too many hours in hospitals to not play by the rules.

In reply to sutty:

Yes, and that approach is polite, as well as sensible. Our monitors are mobile-proof because they're not that sensitive anyway. General observation monitors are also fine, but those in resus / itu etc are far more fancy, and can be affected.

Thing is, it's nice that people still have some trepidation about mobiles near equipment, if only so we can say "no" if someone's having a hissy fit and the last thing we need is more hysterical people turning up!

I'm not sure what I think about phones on wards. On one hand, if I were in hospital, I'd rather use my phone than the ridiculous Patientline. On the other, if I were in and wanted peace and queit, the last thing I'd want is the patient in the next bed jabbering away 24/7!

In reply to sutty:

Whilst appreciating your sentiments sutty, I have worked within the NHS for approaching 30yrs and I am well aware of exactly how that particular scenario would unfold.

In reply to jim robertson:

No problems, but if someone had been using one near my wife when she was on a sensitive machine I would have done that.

BTW, If you could justify doing it there should be no consequences, apart from a huge payout for dismissal, and the name of the hospital being shit in the papers. Nobody has the right to be so arrogant as to ignore safety procedures. Health minister? Same goes for anyone.

In reply to jim robertson: Ive never understood why the patients and visitors are told to turn off their mobile phones and postersplastered everywhere warningus, whilst the MEDICAL STAFF, i.e.- doctors and nurses, walk around with their phones switched on and answering text messages and calls in frontof us. Double standards that is. The medical staff should have been setting the example or was it a case of do as i say and not as i do?

In reply to Lord of Starkness: I wouldn't be surprised if the contract the NHS have with patient line ( provider of bedside phone, tv, internet) stipulates that patients cant use mobile phones

In reply to sutty:


With respect sutty, whilst personally maintaining my professional standards I do not feel that I should be subjected to the type of scenario you suggest and choose not to go down the phone/bucket/water route which you prescribe. A more robust departmental management approach, implementing local Trust Policy, would appear the least litigious approach.

ALL;
Staff have internal Trust policies they must adhere to, and those infringing those policies are indeed suitably chastised. Med staff use mobiles in controlled manner- not just willy nilly to chat to their mum. A further concern for us has been the advent and poularity of camera phones, the use of which infringes upon patient privacy and dignity- and as a Trust, we have naturlly less control over what a visitor or patient does and virtually nil sanctions, than a member of staff. Within my Trust, it is this that has prompted us to keep the phone ban in place over most of the hopstial, rather than the issue of interference with equipment.

The rest of you- please don't be so bloody precious- use your mobile with consideration for others, and if there are signs saying not to, please don't or at least go outside. For patients unable to do that, the staff on the wards can make some sort of arrangement for you.

Sxx