You can’t recover in hospital

[Schuyler]

I’m not complaining about the care which has been exceptional. I just think the environment is not conducive to recovery. Unfortunately, I’ve been admitted to 5 different hospitals over the last few years and I’ve seen the same thing in all.

The temperature is unstable - either far too hot or far too cold.

The food can be virtually inedible. It is certainly not nourishing! Longish admissions mean I work my way through the menus. I’m fortunate to have almost daily visitors who can bring me food but many people don’t have this luxury. If you’re taken for tests when the food arrives, you might end up with cold food or melted ice cream.

It’s noisy and impossible to sleep and too bright. I understand why they need some lights on and obviously they can’t help beeping and confused people calling out.

I don’t think there’s a real answer but people look at me like I’m an alien when I tell them I tend to get better much quicker at home! AIBU?

[80sMum]

YA definitely NBU! Hospital is just about the worst place to be for recovery and convalescence. The entire environment is prejudiced towards the running of the place, with little or no regard for the needs of the patients for peace and quiet, sleep and nutrition.

[Toddlerteaplease]

@Metalhead single rooms aren't safe for everyone. Some patients need close supervision. And patients are very isolated. I visited a brand new children's Joshua few months ago with a view to relocating, and decided against it as all the patients were tucked away on their own.

[KUGA]

I hate hospitals with venom.
Shyte food/no privacy /
too hot or too cold /noisy nursing/ turn lights on whilst asleep/noisy patients who are not told to go back to their beds the list goes on.
I come out feeling worse than I went in.

[Woofbloodywoof]

YANBU!!!
Carry On Matron was a ridiculous movie but I do think there is something in the old school way of running the wards very strictly. I remember going to the Florence Nightingale museum with my DSis - a nurse - and there being a bit about how Nightingale insisted on as much silence as possible on the wards so patients could rest and recuperate.
Honestly visiting hours are way too long, especially on maternity wards. And it’s a problem in private too. Nurses’ stations seem to have become social hubs on night shifts and god help you if your room is next door to one.
I’ve never been more sleep deprived than when one of my DC was in hospital for long admissions. He was still little and managed to sleep through it; I think I went a month without a proper night’s sleep.
Don’t know what the answer is. A return to a more rigid rule enforcement? I remember the absolute silence after lights out on the children’s ward when I had my tonsils out as a kid - and being terrified of the head Matron!

[Zaphodsotherhead]

I think it depends.

I was recently in for a few days post op, but I live alone, my kids all live and work some distance away, and there was nobody to help me at home. It was nice not to have to think about cooking (I wasn't really capable of doing much bar lying in bed) or taking my meds (I was on IV antibiotics).

Being at home is lovely if there's someone who can help out with the things you can't do while you're poorly. Trying to negotiate cooking yourself nutritious meals and taking yourself to the toilet when you're afraid you might fall, can be tricky if you live alone.

[elliehamster]

The last time I was in, the night nurses didn’t even wear the right shoes, they wore whatever shoes made the most noise across the floor. They frequently used the waste bin nearby to my bed, opening it then letting the metal lid crash back down. It seemed to me that any measures to keep quiet were just not on their agenda at all, they were doing exactly the same as if it was the middle of the day. There was no thought for patients’ need for sleep at all.

[Metalhead]

toddlertea fair enough, but there should be the option of single rooms for everyone where there aren’t any safety concerns - personally I’d much prefer isolation over constant noise and disturbance from other patients!

[TonTonMacoute]

YANBU. In the old days they used to have convalescent homes if people needed a spell to recover before going home.

My FIL went into hospital with a UTI, there was no way he was ill enough to be in hospital but he was too much for my MIL to look after at home.

To be fair they did try to find a home that would take him temporarily, but it was too late and he died from two hospital acquired infections.

[MollyButton]

YANBU!
My notes when pregnant were always full of "Mum needs to get some sleep" - I couldn't sleep in hospital!

Last time I was in hospital I was desperate not to need a blood transfusion as that would involve another overnight. I was incredibly uncomfortable, developing pressure sores, and couldn't move to get comfortable due to IVs and monitoring equipment.
It was too hot, and part of the reason it took so long to get onto the ward was that they didn't give me water in A and E. When the Doctor requested it they treated me like a nuisance but it got the heart rate down so the bed in A and E could be unblocked.
And at night I was worried I would snore and disturb others, and every time I moved it seemed to make so much noise that again it made me so self conscious I couldn't sleep.
The nurses etc. were fine and doing their best - but I was uncomfortable and couldn't sleep.

[Nanny0gg]

There are still a very few convalescent homes about. Any near you?

[Puppytooth]

Not at all unreasonable - my mum was in hospital with pneumonia and pleurisy and then caught c-difficile. She was in such a bad state and admitted afterwards that she was too scared to eat the food there and most (not all) staff were so cold and matronly. It still makes my blood boil when I think. What she looked like in hospital and the massive difference in her appearance and well being after a couple of days at home.

[RosaWaiting]

Zaphod “Trying to negotiate cooking yourself nutritious meals and taking yourself to the toilet when you're afraid you might fall, can be tricky if you live alone.”

Obviously everyone has different preferences. I live alone and havent to cook when I’ve been ill but spent a long time at risk of falling after a major injury. Still much much better than being in hospital. I was lucky that the hospital didn’t want to keep me longer. Funnily enough, some friends and family thought it was bad they wouldn’t keep me longer but I would’ve ended up discharging myself I think!

[CustardySergeant]

What does "playing tic" mean?

[Campervan69]

My dad went in with a broken back (unfortunately they didn't realise for 10 days when they finally thought to x ray him)

He had Parkinson's disease and had been stable and managed by my mum for many years.

Whilst he was in hospital his medication was missed, his teeth rotted and he developed uti after uti.

It killed him eventually.

We all constantly wish we'd never admitted him, but we had no choice.

[TurtleCavalryIsSeriousShit]

Oh lord! It's not just in the UK! I spent 6 months in hospitals in South Africa after a car accident. 5 Hospitals in total.

If you think 6am is early, in the one chain of hospital I was in, they woke you up at 4AM!!!! to wash you. I was completely bed bound, having broken both femurs and 9 other bones. That was hell on earth!

Thankfully I was moved to another chain and their 5 am wash was much better (but only because ANYTHING is better than 4 am).

The only advantage of long term stay is that you get to know the nurses and I managed to convince most that I can wash myself in the evenings, if they just bring me the bucket of water.

And then they only turn the lights off (or dim them) at around 10:30 pm. Being awake in a noisy environment for 17-18 hours, bed bound, in pain is definitely not conducive to healing. Maybe physically, but it was hard mentally.

I can't fault the majority of the nurses. You get to know the nice ones and the not so nice ones and you just learn to just wait for the nice ones to come on shift if you want something.

My last month was spent in a rehabilitation hospital and that was actually good fun.

[catismychild]

YANBU at all. I'm a nurse and work a lot of nights and most nights I feel embarrassed at how noisy and disruptive some of my colleagues can be whilst patients are sleeping. You get very little uninterrupted rest, it's absolutely not conducive to recovery. Agree the food is fucking awful and not nutritious at all. You're also more likely to pick up an infection in hospital than you are at home.

Weirdly we seem to get more patients that never wanna bloody leave than those that are desperate to get out though.

[GrumpyMcGrumpFace]

you wonder could there be convalescent wings - also for people waiting for surgery who aren't allowed home (my experience). I really know nothing, so don't jump down my throat, but I wonder could cost savings be made as people on these wings wouldn't need the amount of care as people on a normal ward. More being within easy reach, and resting (and not being given out of date cream crackers to eat...)

[RosaWaiting]

Cat “Weirdly we seem to get more patients that never wanna bloody leave than those that are desperate to get out though.”

I wonder why? Be interested to hear your thoughts.

[timshelthechoice]

YANBU. I've left of my own accord due to appalling 'care' and no sleep. Just got up and walked out.

[NotMyRealName123]

Definitely NBU, however hospitals are not meant to be places for you to 'recover'.

They're there to make sure you are safe and cared for until medically fit to go home. And then that is where you recover.

Like, if think about even a minor operation or procedure has a recovery time longer than your stay in hospital. Use a broken limb for example, possibly just needs a cast but takes 6 weeks to heal - you're not kept in hospital for that recovery period. Even if it needs pinning - usually done as day case and home the same day to recover. Maybe kept in a day for pain management/make sure you can mobilise safely etc.

Point being again, you're not meant to recover in a hospital. You're just there until it's safe/appropriate to go home and recover

[TwinsTrollsandHunz]

I’m sorry you’ve had a tricky time lately, OP

Generally, HCP’s know this and try to discharge you as soon as it is safe to do so. Care will move further into the community in the future, partly for this reason and partly for cost reasons. It already is, with MDT services like hospital admission prevention teams and specialist services like community IV teams becoming widespread.


The food issue is a difficult one. Funding cut to the bone. Lots of hospitals on PFI with catering contracted out at extortionate cost for not great quality. Routines are important in hospitals so it is impossible to deliver hot meals to patients who may miss the scheduled mealtime due to an investigation but a sandwich, salad or suitable alternative meal should be provided in order that the patient does not miss the meal entirely. In an ideal world, a routine scheduled investigation should not be disturb Protected Mealtimes anyway but we all know how backed up imaging etc depts get and sometimes that is not possible (it should be avoided at all costs though).

[Mascarponeandwine]

Was on a children’s ward with my son (10) for a month earlier this year. It was better than most, staff were quiet at night (the other parents not so much!). There was a lack of facilities for parents - if I’m expected to plug the gap where the staff don’t have time to meet my sons 24/7 care needs, then at some point in a 4 week period I’m going to need to shower eat drink and wash clothes. Which seemed to confound them. But the new children’s ward was not bad.

Maternity was a whole different ball game. All shades of horrific. The final straw was a new father telling me in great detail about all the gynae surgery his wife had had over the years. Went on for hours. I discharged myself (couldnt stand up straight post c section but had to get away).

[BogglesGoggles]

These issues aren’t issues in better systems. My mother was in and out of hospital every now and then. She had a preferred hospital which was lovely (it was private). It was beautifully decorated, each patient had a large private room and could adjust the temperature/lighting to their liking. The food was good. The staff were always on hand. Money can solve most problems, unfortunately there simply isn’t enough in the NHS to make it pleasant or adequate even.

[Hollycatberry]

Ofc it comes down to the tories not giving any money to the NHS but maybe there is a way to do it on the cheap. Maybe offer apprentice nursing degrees and their job is to be a basic care nurse for 3 years with one day a week for study

Sorry but people who want to be nurses don't go into the profession to lay beds and clean bed pans like the "good old days". Nursing has moved on a profession and al ot of people want to do it because there is more scope to get into the technical and advanced aspects of medicine. If you want to do domestic activities in a hospital setting, the healthcare assistant role would be the right career instead.
What you are proposing is like saying all teachers have to be a Teaching Assistant for 3 years before being allowed to be a teacher. It's a ridiculous when the nursing profession is trying to attract bright motivated people. I agree there is a role for 'caring' in a hospital setting but making all nurses do basic domestic ward work for 3 years is not the answer. It would be better to re introduce smaller cottage hospitals with a focus on rest and recovery with the staff recruited into roles that reflect that type of work.