The use of mobile phones in hospital

[Bonjon 10]

 

I did take a mobile in for my stay but for a genuine reason that the staff nurse understood and made an exception for. I only texted though, never spoke or had the ringer on. It may well have caused resentment among others in the bay that the rules were bent, but the alternative was having a room to myself which they probably would have resented even more. They'd have hated me much more if I'd been banned from using it, it was a lifeline.

 

How very hypocritcal of you, i'm sure other people had genuine reasons to themselves to have their phone with them.

 

So just to re-cap, its fine for you to take your's in as you think you have a genuine reason, but anyone else is being inconsiderate.....

[Bonjon 10]

In the US every hospital room has a landline phone at no cost to the patient, not used much anymore as most have mobiles now, also most hospitals have private rooms with full bathrooms so you can chat away

 

If you have the correct insurance, I know which one I prefer.

[poppins 10]

Do you have to pay extra for hospital treatment in the US ?

 

If you can afford it yes, if not you get it free.

[DaFoot 10]

On a recent visit to a hospital I saw signs scattered about along the lines of "please don't use your mobiles, they interfere with machines".

 

Whether that is actually correct or not I don't really care, I'd rather not risk being the person that causes problems in machines keeping someone alive etc. There is no doubt in my mind mobile phones have the potential to interfere with electronics, just have to put one near a speaker to hear it.

[Cyclone 10]

On a recent visit to a hospital I saw signs scattered about along the lines of "please don't use your mobiles, they interfere with machines".

 

Whether that is actually correct or not I don't really care, I'd rather not risk being the person that causes problems in machines keeping someone alive etc. There is no doubt in my mind mobile phones have the potential to interfere with electronics, just have to put one near a speaker to hear it.

 

It's basically not true. And if it were it would depend on you being close to that important piece of equipment. Maybe on the ICU ward it would make sense, but when you're just wandering down a corridor or in a medical ward there's basically nothing to disturb even if it were true.

[wackyjaki 10]

Of course it's fine for them, they are the doctors. I know it's trendy to think "no one is better than anyone else" etc but I've got some bad news for you. Doctors are more important than others in a hospital. Can you guess why?

 

dont be sarcy

[purdyamos 10]

How very hypocritcal of you, i'm sure other people had genuine reasons to themselves to have their phone with them.

 

So just to re-cap, its fine for you to take your's in as you think you have a genuine reason, but anyone else is being inconsiderate.....

 

 

As you don't know what my genuine reason was you're in absolutely no position to judge. My genuine reason was embedded in my medical history. And the alternative was a private room - which was NOT a demand from me, it was the staff nurse who suggested it and I turned it down as she'd already agreed to allow me my lifeline. Everyone who knows the details of my clinical record agreed that I was an appropriate case for a discrete exception to be made.

 

And if you read what I posted, you'll see that even if everyone were allowed a phone, there is a world of difference between quietly texting with the ringer switched off and yakking away in front of people. That IS being inconsiderate.

[Harleyman 12]

Mobile phones have to be switched off in hospitals and clinics in my part of the world.

Interfere with equipment in some way so the warning signs say.

 

If I had to share a room I wouldn't want some motor mouth yakking on his cell phone 8 hours a day either.

[poppins 10]

Mobile phones have to be switched off in hospitals and clinics in my part of the world.

Interfere with equipment in some way so the warning signs say.

 

If I had to share a room I wouldn't want some motor mouth yakking on his cell phone 8 hours a day either.

 

Not where I am Harley, all the nurses & tecs carry them, the nurses keep in touch with the doctors through texting, not the kind of texting thats used normaly, the textings done somehow from the nurses staion...not sure how but they can get info to a doctor in seconds

[Harleyman 12]

Not where I am Harley, all the nurses & tecs carry them, the nurses keep in touch with the doctors through texting, not the kind of texting thats used normaly, the textings done somehow from the nurses staion...not sure how but they can get info to a doctor in seconds

 

Maybe I'm a bit behind the times poppins. I had a stint in hospital just over 3 years ago. There were a couple on instances when patients were in cardiac arrest and the nurses yelled "Code Blue, Code Blue" over the intercom and that alerted doctors and other other emergency staff to the location.

 

I still see signs in clinics asking patients to turn off their phones when inside though.

[madasfish 10]

How very hypocritcal of you, i'm sure other people had genuine reasons to themselves to have their phone with them.

 

So just to re-cap, its fine for you to take your's in as you think you have a genuine reason, but anyone else is being inconsiderate.....

 

Why the judgement?

[JFKvsNixon 11]

It's basically not true. And if it were it would depend on you being close to that important piece of equipment. Maybe on the ICU ward it would make sense, but when you're just wandering down a corridor or in a medical ward there's basically nothing to disturb even if it were true.

 

What about an insulin, morphine or other medicine pump? I heard a story going back a fair few years where a film crews camera caused a morphine pump to malfunction by giving the patient a higher dose of morphine than it was programmed to.

 

I'm led to believe that modern mobile phones are considered safe however, and the worry nowadays is more a privacy issue