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Original poster

Nurses watching tv/surfing the internet

393 replies

UB40fan · 28/05/2019 23:47

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?

OP posts:
feistymumma · 29/05/2019 12:54

@Dyrne I am with you with the drip feed observation. OP keeps upping the ante when not getting the reaction hoped for - now there are serious concerns! The mind boggles

byteme1011 · 29/05/2019 12:55

x2boys Fair enough about breaks, but not enough time to go pee? Still seems off to me

paffuto · 29/05/2019 12:58

So basically a number of posters think their taxes should be used to pay some nurses to watch TV and surf the net? No wonder this country's going to the dogs.Biscuit OP, YANBU

MrMakersFartyParty · 29/05/2019 13:02

This is such bollocks.

Dyrne · 29/05/2019 13:08

paffuto What do you expect then? The patients need to rest so can’t go round talking to the patients (and if they did, no doubt someone would be on here moaning about how they couldn’t sleep due to the nurses “chattering”).

If there are no observations or medications to be given out, and no patients calling for help; and paperwork has been done, then what would you like them to do? I’ve seen posts here complaining about the nurses “walking up and down” ffs!

paffuto · 29/05/2019 13:13

Dyrne if you're satisfied with your taxes being used for nurses leisure, so be it. I'm not.

PrincessTiggerlily · 29/05/2019 13:16

The nurses who don't have time for a pee or food should really make a stand. I hate all the 'the patients come first' stuff, if they actually stood up and were counted then they would have more staff and they would have time for a pee and they would have to be professional and not live on their laurels. And we, the patients, would get a better service, but as long as they don't go on strike or give their union a kick up the derriere we have to be thankful to these 'angels' for bad service.

madcatladyforever · 29/05/2019 13:24

I was a nurse for 25 years and never had a single day where I wasn't rushed off my feet. Often I'd get to 6 or 7 hours and realised I hadn't had a pee all day. Then I was a podiatrist in the NHS and it was the same. So much paper/computer work I'd often work an extra hour or 2 hours to get it done. Also we a were not allowed phones at all.

Thuglife · 29/05/2019 13:24

@PrincessTigerLily
I agree with a lot of what you say & wish nurses were more political however it’s complicated. The RCN (which is the biggest nurses union) doesn’t support strike action & even working to rule is very difficult- would patients be happy if we demanded to take our breaks, leave on time etc. No ; they’d be on here banging on about what lazy cows we all are. People really have no idea.

Borisdaspide · 29/05/2019 13:28

if you're satisfied with your taxes being used for nurses leisure, so be it. I'm not.

Is this any job with downtime, or just nurses?

PrincessTiggerlily · 29/05/2019 13:32

From what I've read it is largely due to shortage of staff. So fixing that would surely increase the chances of time for a pee.

Review from Uni of Southampton
www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2019/04/francis-inquiry-study.page

Thuglife · 29/05/2019 13:39

More staff would be a good start Smile But... it takes 3years to train a nurse and by abolishing the bursary and making nursing an all degree profession the recruitment crisis will continue imho.

x2boys · 29/05/2019 13:46

True Thug, but my friend has just started a nursing associate course from what I can tell it is not dissimilar to enrolled nurses , which were being phased out when I was doing my nurse training in the early 90,s apparently when she finishes the course she will be registered by the NMC and be a band four and she earns £17,000/ year whilst training g .

Polarbearflavour · 29/05/2019 13:57

My last job (not nursing) was a government job with very little to do, I read my kindle all day at work!

I’m sure that will send a few people here into fainting fits!

Praiseyou · 29/05/2019 13:58

The problem with this type of question is that people either defend or criticise ALL nurses. Like in any job, I'm sure some are brilliant, majority are fine and some are crap.

If the OP had a complaint about her hairdresser, the thread would not become an argument about hairdressers as a collective.

SerenaOverjoyed · 29/05/2019 13:59

@paffuto if the majority of nurses work through their unpaid break the taxpayer is quids in. At least 10 free of charge hours of nursing care a week per nurse, or thousands of free hours during a nurse's career. Between the missed breaks and routine unpaid overtime I've easily clocked 1000 free hours for the NHS. The system can probably cope with a nurse watching TV for a few minutes.

SerenaOverjoyed · 29/05/2019 14:00

10 a month* silly tired brain

RUOKHUN · 29/05/2019 14:07

Were the staff you witnessed on a 1:1? Often with 1:1 you literally have nothing to do unless something happens and 90% of the time you are there ‘just in case’.

Of course you won’t necessarily know someone is working a 1:1 and can’t leave their chair, what you will see is someone sat on their arse not getting up for anything. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Xmas2020 · 29/05/2019 14:09

Wow, i would love to meet a nurse who has time to sit on her arse fir an hour watching TV. No nurse i have ever worked with has ever had enough time, or a long enough break to watch TV!

x2boys · 29/05/2019 14:13

Very true RUOK on acute mental health wards we often had patients on level one observations (specialling) a member of staff would have to be in arms reach of the patient at all times and even if the patient was settled or having a nap to a casual observer it would look like the member of staff was sat watching tv or reading a magazine and there would often be comments from visitors to the ward about these staff " doing nothing"

Xmas2020 · 29/05/2019 14:14

@RichYorks how have you gone home to put your kids to bed and washed up whilst in works time? All Ambulances are tracked through Control, so are you a First Responder volunteering? Sorry but i do not believe any Ambulance Services would allow that.

Thuglife · 29/05/2019 14:14

@2boys
I don’t know much about the nursing associate training but my understanding is that those who are paid while training are being funded by their NHS trust and there is some obligation to work for that trust once qualified?. I know this is the case for the Assistant Practioners that I have mentored.

Thuglife · 29/05/2019 14:15

Practitioners

x2boys · 29/05/2019 14:28

That's possible Thug , my friend didn't work at the trust before though so she wasent "seconded" I think she applied to do the course a t a local NHS trust and also gets paid ,as a band three whilst doing the course , possibly this is an initiative by her trust to recruit and retain staff?

cathf · 29/05/2019 14:31

The problem with threads like this is that, on MN, there are certain professions that are beyond criticism. Nursing is one of them. For some strange reason, doctors not so much.
I was in hospital for three weeks last year, and I witnessed both good and bad examples.
I witnessed nurses run off their feet and too busy to take time to check things.
I also heard constant moaning about things that would be quite commonplace in other jobs, and yes, I did see one bank nurse on her phone literally all night (I was not sleeping), not bothering to bring tea and coffee at bedtime and having to be reminded to change drips etc. Her partner was rushed off his feet and did eventually say something to her.
One last point - what do nurses earn? I don't know actually, and I suspect most people don't. But for some reason, we are conditioned to think they don't earn enough. Often the flat wage is stated, when in reality, the actual take-home pay is considerably higher, allowing for shift pay etc