Why are wards so noisy?

[EachandEveryone]

My femoral artery went on Monday I was on my own and could’ve died or lost my leg. At first I was on a post surgery unit it was blissful and I tried to keep a low profile but it wasn’t to last and now I’m on a vascular ward. The care is spot on and I’m very lucky so feel awful complaining about the noise. There’s only four of us on the ward. From the minute the staff come on to do the night shift it’s like the noise goes up ten fold. As if they have been to Australia for a year. And it carries on until midnight . I’ve tried to make a joke of it as I’ve been a nurse for 25 years myself. The lights are like a punishment and don’t go off until midnight. I understand the need for two hourly obs but is there any need to put the lights on and wake the person fully up? At 5am it’s like 9am in the real world. The meds start, the cleaners come, the hot drinks are served. Then doctors round at 8. I’m extremely greatful to be here but I think expecting patients to recover of 4/5 hours sleep is just awful.

Why are your sats sitting at 88. Is that your normal range.... Sorry Nurse me can't help but be nosy.

No my moral range is about 95 since I’ve been sick they haven’t been that great some five me oxygen others don’t.

the reason it went is because I have cancer in the area and every scan I’ve had has said that the lymph nodes are wrapping around my artery veins. I’m assuming it drilled its way through? Until the cancer treatment starts working it’s just going to grow. Makes me worry if I start thinking about it.

what is annoying though is that o have an open wound in my groin that stunk and I nagged for swabs and out of seven swabs the results of only one came back to the gp, seriously there’s a lack of urgency and communication going on.

Were your target sats 88-92??You've mentioned you're a nurse so why not communicate with the nurses?About the noise, best to ask for ear plugs we stock them on our ward I don't know about other hospitals . Ask the staff to turn the lights off. About the noise, communicate with the staff. Wishing u a quick recovery

I’ve had a few stays on various wards, and all were similar in my local hospital. I was exhausted and at the end of my ability to cope by the time I was discharged. Except it was staff AND other patients causing various disturbances. I felt so vulnerable and had no chance of relaxing even for a second, let alone sleeping.

I have experienced this in hospital and I find it unforgivable that staff don’t put a stop to it. On one occasion it wasn’t even the patient, but her visitor! I felt like shouting at him “Stay at home, you ignorant pig. You can’t even be bothered to pay any attention to your relative and you’re disturbing the rest of the ward in the meantime.” The nurses (and doctors when they came onto the ward) literally carried on around him like nothing was happening.

I’ve just w

I’ve just woke up it was two patients chatting. But I can’t complain it’s day time. I’m covered in sweat I just want a good wash but no one to help I’ll have to do it bit by bit.

they know I’m a nurse! Or if they don’t they soon change their attitude when they find out that I’m in this trust as well. Not that it should make a difference but unfortunately it does.

The electric bath on my ward decided to flood everywhere at 6am last week. We had to put the lights on. We are trying to keep the noise down, but the parents in the bay were love it the drama and being very noisy. Then the cleaners brought in industrial driers. It was not quiet!

Honestly they really are prats. It must be some kind of a meeting as it’s the beginning of the week. The ward door they leave it open it makes such a difference shutting it. I mean I know it’s 730 and it’s normal waking up time but we are all sick! And have been woken up since 5am for drug rounds, observations, cleaning and now breakfast. I don’t know what to say really as they are such a happy team with each other and clearly really like each other.

@EachandEveryonemy team is like that. We all get on really well. But it probably does mean we are a bit more noisy as we chat a lot before we go into handover. And as we have no office, or staff room it’s at the nurses station. We do try to be mindful of the noise though.

I honestly think it’s dreadful. How you can recover from any illness with inadequate food rest or hygiene is beyond me.

At our hospital you get a care package with tissues, ear plugs, eye mask etc.

I have the same arguement every morning
at 5am
“can I have my thyroxine please”
your drugs aren’t due until 6am
”it can’t be taken with any drugs and it’s important I take it properly as the immunotherapy I am affects my thyroid”

comes back at 6am with all my drugs all mixed up in a little pot. Then waits for me to take them all so we have a stand off when I just take the thyroxine.

The joke of it is are that these are my own drugs from home!!! Where is the trust?

Basically as a patient in hospital you become a series of tasks and processes. You are dehumanised - the staff only relate to each other as humans, and you are a body shaped site of work. So the basics of care, which are comfort (sleep, food, rest, kindness, safety, washing) are completely ignored. Instead things are carried out on your body: obs, meds, charts -as those are the tasks relevant to the HCP. Anything that obstructs those tasks is considered as, basically, sabotage, like the wonky wheel on the supermarket trolly: an annoyance obstructing their goals.

It's a difficult problem, because it causes very good people to collectively act with great inhumanity. It's too hard for them to recognise it and they will get really angry when it's pointed out. After all they work very hard and have good intentions.

Culturally there’s a huge difference between the nurses as well. And I hate myself for even thinking it.

When I was in last time, there was someone I assume with some (mental) problems, somewhere down the corridor who called for the nurse every few minutes day and night, literally screaming for the nurse and if they didn't come would threaten to break something to make them. One day a nurse had to sit beside them all day just to keep them quiet, how the nurses have patience I don't know.

There were also people coming in from theatre at all hours to be settled on the ward, and one elderly, confused lady arrived in the early hours, it was meant to be a surgical ward, but I guess there was nowhere else to put her. But the nurses were all lovely and the treatment was excellent and fortunately I was only there for a few days.

Not my experience, my nurses were all lovely, friendly and very keen to make sure I was comfortable. Yes they did all the routine things efficiently, but I never felt like an object or an inconvenience. And yes it was a bit noisy, but it was a very busy surgical ward, with patients coming in at all hours.

That's great that you didn't experience this. I spent 22 years in and out of hospitals and have observed this many times.

I’ve only ever been in the maternity unit, but it wasn’t the mums or new babies. It was the men and the nurses who made all the noise and kept everyone awake.

Late DH spent years (30+) in and out of hospitals, I was always appalled at the lack of consideration patients have to suffer.
How they expect anyone to get well in hospital with so little rest is beyond me. I was so frazzled after a post op 2 night stay I begged to go home. Just awful.

@Lundier sums it up really.

Wishing you well op, I hope you can get home soon

You know it’s just not on someone had their alarm clock to go off every hour. I don’t know if it was to do with her diabetes so couldn’t really say anything. Another lady is just in agony on a night so crying for painkillers. Again, can’t be helped. However coming to fo obs and waking people up in a proper day time voice at 2am is just horrible. At 4am onwards it’s like day time for them. Drugs and obs.

funny though. When my dressing was leaking at 7am and knickers full of blood I was told that it’s best to wait for the doctors round so they can see the wound. Like hell she was going to start doing anything 30 mins before her handover time.