Aibu to think that hospitals should do more to promote sleep for patients on wards

[Twistandshout77]

The nhs seems stuck in a dark age that doesn't recognise the value of sleep and comfort on patients. How is anyone supposed to recover whilst getting next to no sleep on busy, noisy, hot/cold wards with bright lights, staff talking and creaky metal bin lids banging? I'm just back from a 2 night stay with my LO in which I averaged 3 hours broken sleep a night - it wasn't me that's sick but I came out feeling so! God knows how anyone with a serious illness manages. There's SO much that could be done - and not that expensively. I'm sure they'd see much faster recovery rates and therefore savings too if there was a focus on it. Aibu to think the NHS needs to revolutionise its attitude towards sleep for inpatients? What can I do to start a campaign?!

I guess there's a few things that can be done then

• there's the design of the building problems - clearly the NHS isn't instructing its architects on sleep because the hospital I stayed in was very new and basically designed like an open plan office so changes could be made to new buildings and refurishments
• there's the attitude of the staff which needs to be set by the matron although many individual nurses are wonderful at trying hard to be quiet. Maybe patients could be given a feedback form on discharge about sleep - asking how they slept and what was good and bad that helped or stopped them sleeping and any ideas for improvement.
• there's the attitude of the other patients - again comes down to setting and enforcing rules - headphones on TVs, respecting visitor times, no phone conversations unless necessary at night etc
• there's the unavoidable noises like obs and cries and emergencies - which are inherently unavoidable and therefore just have to try to be minimised with ear plugs, masks, shutting doors etc
• and there's the money problem because if there was more money for the NHS perhaps there could be more nurses and we all have private rooms and blackout curtains, sound proof walls and air con thermostats in each room.

I still remember the bin next to my bed on the postnatal ward, although it is some years ago now. DS was in SCBU but I was up to feed, express etc, still I might have got some sleep, which I desperately needed, if not for the effing bin, clanking all night with no effort at all to be quiet, also the creaky door which annoyed me so much I set about trying to fix it one night, the staff talking - not work related just chit chat, and of course the changing of a bed at 2am - which I suppose they did in case someone needed it but they didn't, not till midday next day. This is just on top of the necessary obs, crying babies other people snoring but totally agree with OP small and inexpensive changes could make a significant difference and sleep is important to recovery.

YADNBU.

Having had several stays in antenatal and postnatal wards over the last couple of years, I wholeheartedly agree that on some wards sleep doesn't seem to be valued. I had DD2 last month and was put on a high dependency unit after a crash EMCS. I was the only patient in there and was allowed to actually sleep. As in, lights dimmed right down, door shut and staff whispered all night. It was the best thing for me and I genuinely believe it set me up for a good recovery.

patients with dementia talking and shouting all night.
That's my experience. I had a couple of nights in hospital about twenty years ago to have my wisdom teeth out. Apart from fellow patients snoring I was kept awake both nights by a poor guy with mental health issues or dementia who talked all night long.
The staff were great though, very little noise from them.

I do think some staff just don't hear the noise they are making. It's no more effort to close a door quietly than let it slam, same with a bin. Talking loudly in the corridors was always a bugbear of mine too! I think because I did nights for many years, I became very attuned to the patient experience, was acutely aware of the noise I was making and worked so hard to minimise the noise from other patients and staff.

I hate nights now for all those reasons and many more, much nicer to work in the day when noise is not such an issue, more relaxed.

I totally agree.

DS, aged 2, broke his femur and was in traction for 3 weeks with me in a chair next to him ( obviously couldn't leave him as he was so distressed.)

Can you imagine a lively 2 yr old boy attached to a bed for 3 weeks? It was hell for him. The only respite was sleep. I was so relieved for him when he slept.

However, the nurses were heartless. Coming in at all hours, turning all the lights on, shouting to each other, banging, crashing. In non- emergency situations I must add. They were working so they didn't care less about anyone else.

Apologies, I know there are loveky, caring nurses out there. There were some amazing ones in the day. The night nurses couldn't give a shit in my experience.

Was kept in one night with Dc2, didn't have a wink of sleep and discharged myself the next day

'Yes to bin slamming, surely an easy fix, '

It is, you can get the very same bins but with a slow release mechanism. Maybe we all need to complain about the racket from the bins and every department would get them. Honestly, when I was in a ward that had them it must have halved the constant noise. Obviously cost will be an issue but just a natural wastage would do, as old ones are chucked out then new bins must have a slow release close.

Re the private rooms - i know staff at a new build hospital which is mainly private rooms and from their POV it is much harder for them because when it's bays they can "eyeball" patients as they walk past to someone else and obviously with all private rooms that doesn't happen. It seems to slow things down and make it harder to notice small changes.

As a patient/parent of patient I also hate private rooms because it's so isolating and lonely if in for more that 24 hours

'The night nurses couldn't give a shit in my experience.'
I think some are just oblivious and get desensitised.

There's a culture of 'theres sick people we can't be quiet' but as we can see from this thread it isn't the emergencies that bother people, it's the loud chatting and those bins.

The days of the Matron having involvement in managing staff behavior on the ward day or night are long gone! The Modern Matron role is very different.

The ward set up is a big issue, even in mental health. Our ward has individual rooms with doors but no sound proofing whatsoever in the corridors, so a door slamming in one corridor can be heard throughout the ward. The removal of soft surfaces like carpets had a negative effect in that respect, although obviously necessary for infection control and cleanliness.

My friend told me that German hospitals are very quiet and people wouldn't be allowed to chat loudly in the corridors. No idea if it's true.

Thankfully I was only ever in hospital in a private hospital abroad with my own room and bathroom. I was also unwell enough that I was asleep/comatose anyway so you could have driven a train through the room and I wouldn't have noticed.

By evening I was feeling a lot better but I was pretty much left to my own devices overnight and not checked at all.

They can build private rooms with glass/plastic/clear walls though? Like in an office? Let's everyone be seen but minimises noise?

Looking through a window isn't the same as being able to see a patient up close. Windows would also still need curtains!

It can be difficult to sleep uninterrupted in hospital. Even in a private room you get woken up by the (thorough and professional) night nurse coming in to check you are ok! Not sure what that answer is.

I do agree private rooms can be lonely - I stayed in one with my LO for 3 weeks once and did find it hard not being able to leave as no one could watch her and nurses too busy just to babysit but much much preferable to the wards which on which I just feel like I'm on big brother

I have two words on this. IV PUMPS!

My son goes in every 3 months for iv antibiotics, the pumps start alarming after the delivery time to say it's finished, this is midnight, then after a few minutes it gets louder and then louder.... every. Single. Time!!

Cue a grumpy me shuffling down the ward in my pjs to ask the (desk full of) nurses to please come and disconnect and flush.

They say that after working there a while they don't hear it, which is very bloody helpful!
I have learnt to turn it off myself and press the call button (which also gets ignored for a long time)

Sats monitors are just as bad, DS has frequent plummets in his O2 sats.

For this reason I do home ivs as much as possible but the first few days are always impatient.

I will point out though that this is 1 tiny problem, the staff are amazing and kind and helpful and I'd rather listen to a million iv pumps in the middle of the night than lose them due to a non functioning nhs.

I'm starting to think I need to take out private health care based on this thread.

YANBU - I stayed in antenatal a few weeks ago. Was admitted at 7pm, at about 10pm was told lights were going off so proceeded to get comfy ready for sleep, probably nodded off a bit and then a student midwife came and turned all the main lights back on without warning to do a CTG at 11pm left me on the monitor until 12:40am when another midwife came, took me off the monitor and say "I don't know why she has done this now, it could have waited until morning" !

I thought surely it's not unreasonable to expect a full nights sleep since I was only admitted for observation.

Two keys things for recovery from almost any condition or procedure are rest and good nutrition, so the body can heal. Two things most hospitals are really bad at are... letting patients sleep and good meals.

Oh, and as far as I can tell, hospital wards are kept as hot as they are to make it really easy for bugs to multiply. My baby came out with two infections she didn't go in with.

Someone manages the ward. Imo the sister is the person who needs to set the tone and expectations. If the sister never works nights then good luck to any other individual trying to change the culture.

youcanttakethesky you'll likely end up in an NHS hospital anyway. Might get your own room though. Unless there is someone with a greater need.

I've been in hospital this week, and just want to give an example of how it CAN be really good, too.

Large shared room - I think there were ten beds. Mine was next to the open door to the corridor and the nurses' desk. There were some patients clearly very unwell and in lots of pain in the room. Some people snored. But I do think everything was done that could possibly have been done to keep things calm during the night. The bright lights were off (if someone needed attention the staff would pull the curtains around their bed and turn a light on by their bed). The nurses spoke in low voices. The people who worked by the desk near my bed were clearly being as quiet as they could. My sleep was disturbed since I wasn't feeling well, but I definitely can't blame the hospital for it.

Might be worth it just for my own room by the sound of it.