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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think you should not use another patient's over-bed TV when in hospital?

33 replies

climbingquickly · 26/04/2015 15:17

My friend was admitted to hospital for overnight monitoring. I went to fetch her things from home, in meantime she was moved to a ward. When I got to ward she was very upset and crying and 2 doctors were trying to sort out an argument between her and woman in next bed.

Friend said when she was wheeled onto ward at 11pm, the woman in next bed was using her over-bed tv/computer thing (each bed has one attached but can be moved to one side on an overhead lever, you have to buy a card to use them. Woman was apparently sitting on her own bed but had angled friend's TV so she could watch it.) Friend asked the woman to use her own TV as she wanted privacy. Woman responded by drawing cubicle curtains around the TV but refused to switch it off, said the previous woman in that bed had left money in the TV for her to use! Friend switched TV off herself and moved it back over her own bed. They had an argument. Nurses apparently ignored all this.

When I got to ward, friend and this woman were shouting at each other, as apparently when friend went to loo, woman in next bed took over her TV again. It turned into slanging match, friend called the woman a chav, and 2 doctors had to intervene.

AIBU to think nurses should never have allowed this to happen in first place? That one patient should not go into bed-space of another, move their TV and use it, even if previous patient left some money on it?

OP posts:

WilburIsSomePig · 26/04/2015 15:20

You really can't blame the nurses for this, they have enough to do. The other lady should not have been using your friends TV, your friend shouldnt have called her a chav. Sounds like a situation that got out of hand.

ImperialBlether · 26/04/2015 15:20

Of course they shouldn't! And how can either of them relax and sleep virtually side by side after an argument like that?

They could have swapped beds, but that would involve moving everything around and, in the middle of the night, that's really inappropriate.

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 26/04/2015 15:22

I didn't know this facility was available and at 11.00 pm the telly should be off anyway to let other patients get some sleep.

Your friend was rightly upset and the Nurses should have intervened before it got nasty..

Theycallmemellowjello · 26/04/2015 15:24

To be fair if neither woman asked the nurses to intervene (what your friend should have done after the woman first refused) I don't think they can be blamed for not listening in to the conversation.

PunkrockerGirl · 26/04/2015 15:26

No they shouldn't. Nurses have more than enough to do without refereeing disputes about televisions.
I used to hate the damn things when I worked on a ward. They were always going wrong and patients expected nurses to be able to fix them .

passthewineplz · 26/04/2015 15:30

I think your friend should have spoken to the nurses, and asked them to intervene. Or your friend could have simply given the card to the woman and ask her to register it to her own TV (there's a number that you can ring to register the card if you move bed).

hedgehogsdontbite · 26/04/2015 15:33

I think it's shameful that someone ill enough to be in hospital can't watch tv unless they've got the funds to pay for it.

MissDuke · 26/04/2015 15:37

TV's in hospitals are definitely more trouble than they are worth. Where I am, every side room has a flat screen tv for free use, but most of the remote controls are now missing. The amount of complaints that I get about that are unreal! Anyway op, both were in the wrong and as bad as eachother, your friend was very rude too. Was the tv actually disturbing her? If so, she could have pressed her call bell to have someone intervene, but really it was not the role of the nurses to police her tv in her absence.

Original poster

climbingquickly · 26/04/2015 15:50

I agree they are more trouble than they are worth. Friend didn't actually want to use TV herself, she just wanted it switched off as the noise was bothering her. The woman had moved it as far as possible away from friend's bed, but it only just reached cubical-curtains, so even though woman had headphones it was noisy. Also curtains didn't close around it properly so friend didn't like woman staring at her through gap (I know she was watching TV not staring but it would have unnerved me a bit too if i wanted to sleep).

I asked if there was a way of transferring the money, but previous occupant hadn't left the card so the money couldn't be moved to another TV. The nearest machine to get cards was on another floor, which seems daft as patients couldn't top up money unless they were well enough to walk!

Friend said nurses heard them arguing but ignored it until they started yelling at each other!

OP posts:

Sirzy · 26/04/2015 15:55

Not the nurses job to sort out I agree.

Do the TVs not need headphones after 9 and Able to top up from the tv? They are at our hospital

Preminstreltension · 26/04/2015 16:01

Actually the matron should have sorted this out. Someone needs to be in control and set the rules for behaviour and that doesn't happen any more.

When I was in hospital with newborn DS for four nights every bed had TV except mine and the woman in the bed next to mine didn't want to use her headphones. It was just on loud. And not turned off until after midnight. Not acceptable.

CaspianSea · 26/04/2015 19:14

The nurses should have stopped her using someone's else TV even when the bed was empty. Patients are not supposed to go in each other's bed areas or touch anything in bed area that's not their own, for infection control reasons. If this woman had MRSA or a bug, she could have left traces of it on the TV and your friend would then be at risk of catching it. I'm surprised the nurses ignored it.

UncleT · 26/04/2015 20:20

Astonishing that several seem to think that staff shouldn't respond to another patient blatantly causing a nuisance to someone. It is not some pretty side issue when basically the other person is forcing a disturbance in this way. Incredible. Sorry - the staff have to respond to this sort of thing, difficult as it is or busy as they are.

frankie001 · 26/04/2015 20:42

I thought you could ring the helpline and switch credit to another bedspace? Your poor friend.

CaspianSea · 26/04/2015 20:56

I think you can if you keep the original card with code on, but if previous patient didn't leave card behind there's no way of switching it.
I just can't believe the nurses ignored a patient using someone else's TV or interfering with anything in someone else's bed-area. That's quite negligent IMO.

TedAndLola · 26/04/2015 21:43

I used to work for one of the companies that provides these TVs (awful company by the way!) and we could definitely switch credit from one TV to the other. I would assume the other companies (actually I think there are only two but might be mistaken) could do the same.

Anyway, that's beside the point. I can't believe the cheek of this woman.

Straycatblue · 26/04/2015 22:41

To the people who are saying that nurses are negligent for not stopping an argument over a tv between two grown women.
Honestly, get real.
TWO GROWN WOMEN were arguing over a tv. Toddlers are better behaved than that. Both women should be ashamed, and then the doctors had to stop looking after patients to get involved, it beggars belief.

Meanwhile the nursing staff were trying to do their actual job of saving lives and caring for sick people. I imagine if the thread title was .....

"My relative never got their essential medication on time because the nursing staff were too busy organising tv schedules" then the nurses would be getting blasted for that as well.

Andylion · 26/04/2015 22:46

Straycatblue, what do you think the OP's friend should have done, then?

UncleT · 26/04/2015 22:47

Nope. Wrong. Not two grown women having an argument over a TV. An ill patient clearly being unreasonably affected by the very obviously highly disrespectful conduct of a neighbouring patient.

Rockclimbingtigger · 26/04/2015 22:52

Utterly agree with straycatblue.

I'm a deputy sister and if 2 women had started yelling on my ward about a TV, necessitating a doctor to come and referee, I'd have had the pair of them removed.

It's a ruddy hospital. I have enough to do looking after actual sick people than sorting out petty squabbles.

Jeez......

UncleT · 26/04/2015 23:02

So one patient clearly bullies another, and you'd have her thrown out? Take a bow, deputy sister.

UncleT · 26/04/2015 23:03

*the one being bullied

Straycatblue · 26/04/2015 23:07

UncleT
If you read the original post, it was the op's friend who was calling the lady already on the ward a chav and they were both shouting at each other. Doesnt sound like bullying to me.
Sounds like two ridiculous immature women who were so selfish that other patients care had to be stopped because they were arguing over a tv.

UncleT · 26/04/2015 23:09

Yes - the culmination of a situation clearly caused by the other person refusing to have even basic consideration and respect for her privacy. It quite obviously isn't remotely reasonable to prevent someone from closing the curtain and getting rest.

wanttosqueezeyou · 26/04/2015 23:13

So straycat you are a happy with a patient using the overbed tv of a neighbouring patient at 11 pm, even though the latter is ill and being disturbed?

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