Do you like the idea of ringing a bell leaving hospital after a long time?

[EachandEveryone]

Am I being miserable as it’s a baby ward after all? They are bringing it in for babies that leave after having long stays. Most parents can’t wait to get out the door I just think it’s one more thing to ask them to do. I’ve always associated it with the end of treatment for cancer. Is it a general thing now?

Strange. NICUs are usually big on reducing unnecessary noise.

Horrible idea on any hospital ward.

I've only seen them on children's wards for end of treatment. 2 of my babies were in nicu and one was in scbu. 4th dc was in nicu for 3 days, scbu for 2 weeks and then isolation for 11 days. 5th dc was in nicu for 5 days and postnatal for 3 days. Both have long term health problems years later. Discharge from neonatal was a happy event (although with dc4 I cried) but only the beginning of their journey. Also the nicu is a very emotional place and it would be upsetting for the parents. And it would be of no benefit to the babies who are the patients after all.

In the children's ward it's different. It's absolute chaos with children who have serious illnesses in beds next to children in for elective day surgery. And there are teenagers sharing bays with toddlers. The bell benefits the child, especially if they are too young to understand about follow up scans and the chances of cancer returning. I have seen many children ring the bell and it's lovely. My dc are on the ward for different reasons. It doesn't bother me that they will probably never "get better" from their health problems. I am thankful that they are very unlikely to die from them either.

It's bad enough having to drop your baby off in mortuary and then leave via the same exit as parents carrying newborns home. Bells ringing would have finished me off.

@HelloBarkness I'm so sorry your baby died. Totally agree that ringing bells where bereaved parents can hear them is not on. It isn't as if the babies benefit or understand anyway.

Thank you ❤️

In a weird twist of algorithm fate I just watched a tiktok where in some hospitals in America, every time a baby is born they play a lullaby through the speakers. That would have killed me at the time, I think it still would.

Well it’s on order 😞. We didn’t get a say.

Lullaby through the speakers? As if it's not noisy enough in hospital.

Really inappropriate and unnecessary.

I didn't 'ring the bell' as I walked past it on my last day of active cancer treatment (radiotherapy).

Having endured over a year of debilitating hospital treatment which included chemotherapy, surgery and then radiotherapy, it didn't feel like any 'celebration' or 'milestone' to be marked with a performative ringing of a bell with obligatory selfie, in front of said bell mounted onto a painted rainbow.

I was aware of many things, including the poor long term, post treatment, survival rates for my cancer and also those in the ward who were never going to get the option to ring that bloody bell.

I had no idea these bells were also to be found in other wards. I recognise that others may have no issue with them, but it does feel that for many they can be upsetting or even insulting, trivialising perhaps. I'd prefer they were removed.

I think I would feel really embarrassed having to ring a bell to leave hospital. I'd have been mortified if there were a row of people clapping like there was with covid pts too.

Good post. The bell sounds trivialising to me at best. Hope you are doing OK.

I'm so sorry. Just so sorry.

100% with you on that one. I can't imagine what hearing someone ring that bell would have done to my late husband and me when all treatment was withdrawn and he had weeks to live.

I find out extraordinarily insensitive that it's a thing anywhere. I mean, seriously, wtaf are these units thinking?

Ugh no. If it was me I'd want to leave as quietly as possible. If it was a baby I don't get it.

I rang the bell at the end of cancer treatment - I hated it and didn't agree with it for one reason:

There are people on that chemo ward getting treatment and they will never have the opportunity to ring the bell.

I appreciate that I am very lucky to have done that, but I felt for the people who would hear it and be reminded that they wouldn't do it. It felt a bit cruel, although everyone was very positive and happy for me when I done it. Maybe it was a touch of survivors guilt who knows?!

I'm not 100% sure if this thought process fits in with what you're saying, but I just feel like sometimes it's a bit much.

Nope, I would refuse to ring a bell following treatment for anything!

At best I find it really cringey, at worst extremely insensitive.