Nurses watching tv/surfing the internet

[UB40fan]

My daughter was recently in hospital. While there we witnessed nurses watching an hour long tv show and surfing the internet. It was quiet in the hospital at the time. I was stunned by this. The nurses were quite open about this, as in this was obviously allowed. Am i the one behind the times or is this now normal?

Not that I think nurses are angels but I can't imagine sitting on my arse in front of a computer on a busy ward from 6-7pm, watching a programme or even e-learning. That's teatime meds, post-dinner toileting, and writing up notes time.
No that I doubt OP but it's very hard to fathom.
6-7am, maybe.

Unprofessional behaviour should not be tolerated just because last week they had a busy shift and didn't get a break

You can't have it both ways. Either nurses work to rule, ensuring they take both of the legally entitled to, unpaid breaks, always leave on time, and don't do a thing outside of their contracted duties, or they take the rough with the smooth, work as above when needed, and afforded the down time to spend how they see fit when its an option.

I know which one makes the NHS survive and which doesnt.

Anne

Yes, well I don't believe for one moment that a nurse watched TV on an NHS computer for one hour.
I believe that the OP assumes this to be true so I'm not accusing her of pure fabrication.
But honestly? Unless the nurse's past career was something big in IT or she moonlights as a hacker in her free time, it really is not the case that she managed to get netflix or iplayer up on that PC.

I don't think that nurses are angels, but they are deserving of respect and not to be likened to waitresses after funding their practical training and academic degree at their own expense, for our benefit.

We don't get to tarnish a profession on the basis of annecdata, simply because 'our taxes' pay their shit wages.

OP people watch TV browse the internet all the time at work if they can, all the time, so yes you really are behind the times

Umm, no they don't! Where the hell do you work?

Whether people do or don’t watch tv in the private sector is neither here nor there, the rules are different when tax payers pay your wages.

They sure are inliverpool
You are paid much less for doing more work, for one

I wonder how many managers get this much heat for their unsafe staffing ratios?

@inliverpool1
Pretty sure nurses pay tax too....

Formally. No one would say what you did with your patient, was unprofessional. The OP is talking about nurses sitting at their station, not interacting with patients and watching a film. It’s totally different.

My daughter was an outpatient I’m a children’s ward today and was the only patient during the hour we were there, there were five nurses and one doctor, they didn’t look busy but the care was really good, kind, caring and they were all good humoured I expect it’s not always like that!

I work in adult nursing and I have to say I can’t think of a single hospital I’ve worked in in almost 30 years where 1. Nurses stations have access to TV or internet without strict firewall 2. Anyone has the time to watch the former.

I do find it weird the way people have such strong opinions on what nurses do with their time, you don’t hear such comments on ambulance, fire or police staff, for example. There is a servant type expectation with nurses. A lot of the jobs mentioned that apparently nurses are doing badly are no longer routinely done by nurses (making tea, making beds, cleaning, etc).

@ub40fan while you are sat there judging nurses can you inform us what you have been doing for the last 30yrs?? Failing to see how you have the right to criticise anyone who is actually working, and no...being a SAHM doesnt count

My family's experiences of hospitals have either been one extreme or the other. Nurses in one hospital in 2010 absolutely diabolical with a complaint brought against them and doctors that went on for 2 years. (Coincidentally rated inadequate by CQC).

In another smaller hospital BIL had exceptional treatment and nursing when he had flesh-eating bug. SIL had brilliant care at same hospital for cancer.

In our major hospital, IME, nursing care for older patients is absolute shite, with the exception of one or two nurses who very clearly saw the role as a vocation. In the ICU the nurses were outstanding in the care they gave.

HCAs stand out for me as IME they are far more caring, maybe because they do the kind of personal care that others don't seem to want to do.

Something needs to be done to ensure outstanding care is given in ALL hospitals. Many elderly are terrified of going into hospital because of hospitals with bad reports

"don’t hear such comments on ambulance, fire or police staff, for example"

Fortunately ambulance crew stations, police stations and fire stations are not open to the public in the same way a hospital is.( I once had an air guitar competition in a custody suite at night with regular kebab runs and occassionaly a DVD.....)

I tutored student nurses at uni. It seems the culture of wards differed. Some put the patients first, always,others were less disciplined. However, nurses do 12 hour shifts which I think are far too long, so they need some breaks.

Up until l retired 2 years ago, we used to do our online training , look for patients results, information about lots of illnesses, treatments etc , we also looked for NHS jobs , applied for jobs , did assignments , printed labels etc etc when it was quiet. We would watch the tv if we were on our hours break but usually we worked through our break.

Well brummiesue, I have been sitting on my big, fat,fucking arse! I don’t have to justify my lack of working to you. And to the person who assumed that I did not pay taxes, I am married and we most certainly pay our tax.

Unprofessional behaviour should not be tolerated just because last week they had a busy shift and didn't get a break

I'm a midwife, and if I've given the NHS free time and gone with out a break, yeah I'm definitely going to do absolutely nothing if I get a free hour. I don't even care if something like the printer needs restocking with paper, I refuse to wear myself down anymore. You don't get to say to someone that they have to just carry on without breaks and deal with it, no other profession would.
@Inliverpool1 when people say tax payers pay our wages it makes me cringe so badly! You are more reliant on us wiping arses and being shouted at by addicts and attacked. Maybe we should all dictate what people in council houses or on benefits do with their lives too being as we are tax payers? What about OP, hasn't worked in 30 years? I bet she's been having some tax credits in that time, surely we can dictate what she does with her spare time?

@UB40fan "my big fat fucking arse" obese people certainly use up a lot of tax payers money you know, people in glass houses and all that.

@ub40fan yes better make sure you don't end up with some obesity related illness and need help fron those dreadful, lazy, tv watching nurses!!!!!

Oh for gods sake. I am not really obese and I have private health insurance for me and my husband through his employer.

I’m a mental health nurse.
When I worked on an acute ward I would sometimes watch TV with patients. It was incredibly rare to have the chance to and it made a real difference to the time they had there. People were (obviously) in massive distress and having someone sit and do a normal thing with them was so helpful. On night shifts there would have been times I sat for an hour, occasionally.

On some wards patients sleep at night and nurses have to be there in case something happens. We work so hard, we get so few breaks, totally not unreasonable for a nurse to take a bit of a break when he or she can. Often we are so understaffed we are doing the work of 2 or 3 people.

Right, well its just you said you had a fat arse. Weird thing to say. I can't really take someone who hasn't worked in 3 decades seriously when they're criticising someone working.

Also wondering how the tax payers will be reimbursing us for the hours we have worked unpaid? The tax payers don't appear to have taken into account 8 hours that ive worked extra in the last month as it has not appeared on the payslip I received from them.

buster don't forget the military. Also in thrall to the taxpayer.DH told me when he was on guard duty they would also watch DVDs and drink coffee, shockers!!