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?

I too must have worked in all the wrong places. Did nursing and I can honestly say the only time I saw a tv screen was for about 10 mins one Christmas Day when I had to actually accompany a patient from the area to his bed. He didn't want to go. As for other places of work the idea of sitting scrolling in a phone, no way. I would definitely have to be on a break. How can companies sustain staff wasting time doing personal stuff whenever they feel like it. Bet plenty would complain if child came home saying teacher was using phone during class time. Does no one take responsibility for anything nowadays.

As most "paperwork"' is.now done on iPhones at our local hospital, I doubt they were surfing the Internet! As for the TV, as long as all the patients needs were being met, then why shouldn't they grab a quiet period in a 12 hour shift that could potentially get busy and prevent them gettng a proper break. Most hospital wards are usually under staffed so quiet times are few and far between.

OP, has it not occured to you that in large places of work, such as hospitals and with such short breaks - 1/2 hour in a shift for NHS - that the nurse probably didn't want to spend most of her break walking to the staff room, which is probably on the other side of the hospital, and just had her break on the ward instead. Why walk miles just to sit in a canteen for 5 mins before you have to walk back. That's not really a break is it?

Yes, you will get lazy nurses the same as in any other profession, and all you know is that you saw a nurse watching a video on the computer, not the context around it. It could be a training video as well. You are jumpong to conclusions and complain about people without knowing the facts.

By all means complain if you really think it's worth your time, but a ward isn't going to sack a good nurse because they may or may not have been watching TV, so don't get your hopes up.

I'm not sure if you haven't worked for 30 years because of health reasons or because you don't want/have to, but if it's the latter I'm shocked you have the audacity to moan about a nurse taking a break.

Once, I'd walked into a room with a throat sweet in my mouth as I had no break but had tonsillitis, a patient sat there eating pizza had the audacity to say "arrr you're eating sweets". Honestly when you're a dick, it makes the nurses less likely to go the extra mile for you.

@manicmij our trust uses IPhone to record obs, book tests, message Drs, all tests results/bloods are on it. We do not do any paper documentation, all done on the phone.

That's all very good and well, but the posting wasn't highlighting using technology for business purposes it was leisure and watching tv.

I witnessed this happing in a hospital.in Harrow when i needed help.they were unresponsive i couldnt wait till.the morning staff came in and yes most of the staff were agency. I think its shocking because you wouldnt expect this to happen so openly .Never complained but its always sat on my mind

Fartyparty thats funny

I don't understand why patients would be offended if nurses were drinking water.

What is wrong with some people

"creatures" Oh fuck right off

Patients usually arnt woodhill ,it's the managers that have the problem they think it looks unprofessional,

Our Trust has numerous complaints from patients and relatives about nurses drinking water. Sadly often backed up by management. The classic compliant is that it is not fair on patients who are nil by mouth to see nurses drinking . Perhaps they prefer staff who are so dehydrated they cannot look after them safely.

Ah OP....the nurse or teach bashing troll.

I watch tv with patients in quiet time. I sit on my phone and browse facebook at the nurses station. We sit and chat and discuss tv shows. this usually comes after 7 hours of non stop working and caring for patients, chasing up drs, chasing up theatres, providing care to elderly dementia patients who really should have a 1-1, answering endless buzzers for pain relief, 15 minute obs on 5 post surgery patients at the same time, assisting people to and from the bathroom, to and from their bed, changing endless beds, cleaning areas, serving teas and meals, ordering meals, taking bloods, cannulating, catheterising, redressing wounds. Chasing drs and meds so i can discharge people asap as theres 5 more people needing the bed. If by some miracle i have a quiet time after 7 hours of working non stop, with 5.5 hours let, too bloody right im going to take it. Watching and hour of someones day doesnt show you their usually working life.

Thats not even mentioning the hours and hours of paperwork needed to be completed every day.

I simply believe that nurses, as professionals should stop justifying themselves to fucktards.
With immediate effect.

Our Trust has numerous complaints from patients and relatives about nurses drinking water.

I am so fucking glad I left mainstream nursing years ago. What petty-minded, nasty twats would complain about a nurse drinking water? Anyone would think they were standing in the middle of the ward swigging from a bottle of Jack Daniels. I fondly remember the days when you couldn’t walk past a patient’s bed without them insisting you take some of their fruit or chocolates. I suppose you’d get the sack now for accepting.

What a thankless task nursing is now. No wonder they’re leaving the profession in droves when you’ve got patients and relatives watching their every move looking for a reason to complain.

One of my fondest memories of the NICU is chatting with the nurses on the night shift after all the babies had been tube fed and medication given. Lights dim, I would do skin to skin. And a nurse or two would come for a 10-15 min chat to keep me company. Some of the nurses, if they had time would read to any of the babies if they were awake. We almost finished Wind in the Willows for the baby next to us with a complex heart condition by the time we were discharged.

I have seen nurses chatting away for a long time when a hospital ward has been quiet. That is fine if patients are sleeping, but I did think that some of the very elderly patients there might have appreciated having a nurse go to them to chat to them for a bit. But it didn't happen sadly.

Alexa. I’m another who has left mainstream nursing (I’m still a HCP). The water thing was the last straw that pushed me out. It was during a long, hot summer and was just downright cruel.

Not letting staff drink water is ridiculous but why doesn't the RCn make a stand. No one appreciates this martyrdom nowadays.

The RCN is shit! I believe on some units unions may have been involved or certainly the rules were unofficially relaxed, usually after fainting. There has been no overall Trust /union response except to provide ‘drinking areas’, advise nurses to leave the ward to have a drink and to remind them of the need to not have water bottles due to ‘infection control’. If you are on a very busy ward it is totally impractical to leave to get a drink.

I wish I was making this up, I really do.

Also I have to say that I think many (NOT all) patients and relatives absolutely do want and appreciate martyrdom. Nurses are either ‘angels’ or ‘lazy and unkind’ in the public narrative.

Don’t forget that according to the comments on the Daily Mail, nurses have a vocation from God. Which is an excuse for the crap pay and treatment.

I am assuming the vocation from God comments come from much older people when many nurses were part of a religious order, and it was seen by many nurses as a vocation from God.