Nobody answering the call nurse button.

[peachy3]

Not really an AIBU, posting here for traffic, just want to know if anyone else has been in this place and what myself or one of the other patients can do?

I’m currently admitted in hospital with an infection and high heart rate that isn’t coming down. Im on the Labour ward as I’m 36 weeks pregnant. There’s only 4 of us in this room and a few people in another room down the hall. I’ve tried to use my call nurse button a few times but it’s not been making any sound. I brought it up to one nurse who said she’ll be back with a replacement over an hour ago, spoke to another nurse who said the first nurse was sorting it and spoke to a third nurse who said she’ll go find out about it but nobody has come back. I’m in no way bashing the nurses or angry at them at all, they could have been called away to something important, but the woman next to me has pressed her button for me which works and nobody is coming in. It’s been a few hours now, I did go out a few times but was told someone would be coming in now and then nothing. I’ve decided to just wait it out a bit but the lady opposite me has been ringing her button, she’s currently having contractions, and nobody has been coming in. Her button works as it’s making the noise it should but no one is coming in to see her. I’m of course not a nurse but I’ve heard a lot of laughter and chatting out in the hallway which makes it seem like we’re being ignored. Is there anything I should do? I’m the only one not in labour so I don’t mind going out to say something but I also don’t want to sound terrible and entitled, I know how hard nurses work and would never disrespect them.

Any suggestions?

The nurses need maintenance to sort the call bell issue out. Can you get out of bed to press the red button on the wall..the emergency bell..they will soon come running then. Unfortunately the call bell is exactly that, a call bell, if they are busy it can takes ages.

@Jannt86 Open your eyes, love! It's happening every day up & down the UK.

There are some great nursing staff and there are some really uncaring and lazy feckers.
Document and complain-ward manager and PALs.

FWIW hospitals also now have a 6 month probation period for all staff.
We have redeployed unsuitable staff on several occasions over the 20 years I have been working there. Mainly due to incompetence rather than lack of compassion or rudeness. It does happen.
As part of our 3 yearly revalidation every practicing nurse now has to present a portfolio which proves that said nurse follows the NMC code of conduct. Evidence of reflective practice, evidence of learning, evidence of feedback from patients in the form of cards, letters, feedback from colleagues etc. All checked by a matron. If you fail to do it you can't practice. So nursing is slowly trying to regulate itself, something which medics don't have to do at the moment.

OK, so the PALS investigation that found that I was neglected in multiple ways during the birth of my child was just a load of shite then, was it? As was the official apology I received? I'm surprised all you defensive nurses have time to be on Mumsnet, considering how long it must take to polish your halos.

[quote Wam90]**@bigyellowTpot* @Suzyinthesummertime* nice for you to think that every single nurse has been doing this during the pandemic.
I actually didn’t eat or drink for 12+ hours during my shifts because I was terrified to take my mask off and get covid and die/ pass it onto my husband and children at home. And I didn’t make any Tik tok videos - I spent any spare time sitting with patients so they didn’t die alone, or FaceTiming their relatives so they could say goodbye to them before it was too late. You have absolutely no idea. I guess whatever you see on social media is what we’re all up to.

I hope you get everything sorted soon OP. Absolutely ask to speak to the midwife in charge of the shift in the morning and express your concerns. If they are having a jolly while there are patients in distress then it needs to be raised as I’m sure the ward manager/ matron would be mortified to know this is the case.[/quote]
I think you know full well that neither of us stated 'every single nurse' was doing this during the pandemic but let's face it, a lot weren't working anywhere near as hard as they said they were. That was your own choice to wear your mask for 12+ hours, for a 'deadly virus' that most people had over 99% chance of survival. No reason why you couldn't take the mask off and eat/drink. That's ridiculous, just insanity. You obviously weren't so concerned about hypoxia though. I can accept that not every nurse was making tiktok videos, I do not, however, accept that I should have been clapping the NHS as they condoned those who did and should be ashamed of doing so. As for having 'absolutely no idea', I don't think you have any idea of the disgraceful experiences I have personally had with the NHS in terms of medical negligence. You also do not know what my occupation is. I would assume that dealing with death is a large part of a nurse's job. Tell me, were these patients actually dying of 'covid' or had they simply tested positive in the previous 28 days and were actually dying of another condition? Were they heavily dosed with midazolam/morphine (causing respiratory distress) and left to die?Many were.
I'm entitled to free speech and my own opinion, having spent a lot of time seriously ill in hospital last year I can confirm that while decent medical professionals exist, the NHS as a whole is letting people down and not always providing the standards of care it should be.

@Suzyinthesummertime what are your recommendations then out of interest ? And what a messed up vindictive rant about covid

@spangleswereace

Don't tarnish all nurses/care staff with the same brush. The vast majority are decent hardworking professionals and it's a bloody hard job! Trust me the image of a nurse being run of her feet is very much no joke.

Exactly! Where are these nurses who get to sit down all day? I have a job that takes me all over the hospital and all staff are literally racing around all day. No sitting around drinking coffee at all. Which leads me on to not believing everything you read .

We are in a pandemic -water is allowed in lidded named bottles only out on the ward.
All other drinks, snacks are kept in the break room.
Infection control would have a field day if they caught people drinking coffee out of mugs out on the ward, its also very unprofessional.

The Consultant running down the ward to tell everyone off and they all ran away .
Bullshit!
Why would a Consultant be in the hospital at night?
Working in ED, operating or called in to see a sick patient.
No way would they run off, gain entry to an area they dont work, run down the ward and not be challenged.
Nurses do not report to Doctors, thats the biggest myth going, they are colleagues in separate professions .
Doctors do not have Line management duties regarding nurses.
If they started shouting its likely the nurses( Im thinking Midwives and MCAs in the ops scenario) would hand them their arse!
Also the Consultant who read the notes would be immediately reported, its a disciplinary offence to gain access to the notes of a patient you are not caring for.
They would be firmly told they were overstepping and no way would any nurse I know allow them to dictate the patients care.
The patients team would be informed .
Probably after a few drinks Drs might tell these stories but its utter tripe.

Honestly these threads are like the 1950s sometimes.
In the Op it would be Midwives though not Nurses but lets not miss a good Nurse bash eh?

[quote Armadeus]@Suzyinthesummertime what are your recommendations then out of interest ? And what a messed up vindictive rant about covid [/quote]
Nothing messed up or vindictive about it, just don't know where logic has disappeared to in people the past couple of years. Why don't you elaborate yourself since you obviously know so much?

If you are a nurse who has come on this thread to accuse people of lying about their shoddy treatment - you are part of the problem.

I have no idea what a 'fub list' is @mummykel16 but no doubt it's another example of unprofessional behaviour that goes on in hospitals.

Evidence of reflective practice, evidence of learning, evidence of feedback from patients in the form of cards, letters, feedback from colleagues etc

If the Nhs really wanted feedback they would give families and patients an anonymous feedback form to fill in.

There’s many reasons why patients or families might give cards and letters and this is not proof of good care. I’ve done it myself and frankly it’s been a type of arse kissing. You hope they won’t neglect your relative quite so much if you give them chocolate or cards.

I agree with Suzy about what happened during the pandemic. Amnesty international did a report about it and it was extremely disturbing.

Hope you are OK @peachy3 and you managed to get some sleep, drinks and some help ?

I left the ward I worked on because I can't walk past someone in need and I ended up doing far more 'caring' than some of my colleagues did, they managed to get all their e-learning done on nightshifts whilst I answered the bells their patients were pressing, only to be pulled up by the ward manager for 'time management' issues, when I mentioned that I spent more time than the others doing the things we were all being paid to do, I was told I should ignore bells that weren't being rung by my own patients. I probably should have ignored those call bells, but if you care its really hard to walk past someone calling out for help, to blatantly ignore someone who is clearly in a lot of pain, just because they haven't been allocated to you. At the end of the day, that person rarely know's or care's who they are allocated to as long as someone/anyone answers their call for help.

If the Nhs really wanted feedback they would give families and patients an anonymous feedback form to fill in

There are feedback forms available at the entrance to most areas.
Im not sure how it would help to be anonymous , the Matron has to investigate complaints and how can they do that if they dont know the circumstances, who it related to?

*@MarbleQueen
*
*

If the Nhs really wanted feedback they would give families and patients an anonymous feedback form to fill in.*

These forms literally are available daily and there's an anonymous box on the wall to put them in. Our whole trust does this.

I hope you got the help you need @peachy3.
Do complain - it can take a lot to make them pay attention, but it all helps add to the evidence that there are problems and that's what might(!) bring about change. It took months and three attempts to get my maternity complaint acknowledged - and a lot of the problems we experienced were caused by lazy and/or inept midwives. Who ended up costing the NHS a lot of money as they made my baby seriously ill so we were in hospital a lot longer than we should have been. At least one ended up facing disciplinary action after my complaint.

I was in for eight nights so had plenty of time to listen to the raucous laughter from the staff room and how they avoided responding to buzzers. The hour long lunch breaks the antenatal, labour ward and postnatal staff disappeared off to. The SCBU nurse who spent a lot of each night shift watching films on her phone (does nobody check the staff WiFi to see what staff are using it for - there is no way I could get away with doing this at work?!). Fortunately some of them were kind and trying their best but some of them were dreadful.

And medical staff do revalidate their qualifications to prove they are fit to practice. It's very rigorous .
www.aomrc.org.uk/revalidation-cpd/

,I was told I should ignore bells that weren't being rung by my own patients.

thank you for this @Wrongkindofovercoat and sorry you had to leave ward nursing, as it sounds like you were one of the good ones. I was in hospital over the weekend and although I know they were busy there were a lot of basic caring things which were really poor. I was left alone until I was throwing up from the pain I was in, at which point I was changed into a gown, and they said they would put my vomited-on clothes in a bag. They didn't, just slung them on a chair and dumped my coat on top. At the end of my stay wanted me to go and sit in the waiting room, despite the fact I was still in pain, albeit slightly better controlled. And did not see why I would not want to sit in a general waiting room in a hospital gown on a cold windy day. Oh, and the number of time they came to put things on me or take off leads without closing the curtain, so the men in the bed opposite had a full view. I know these are little things, but they denote a lack of care which makes me totally believe that people are ignoring call bells too..

Sorry I haven't RTFT but patient welfare is always my highest priority. I'll read the rest after my shift.

The experiences on here sound appalling.

Over the last 12 years, I've had 3 surgeries and a 3-night in-patient stay because of illness. I must have been very lucky, because the stories on here bear no resemblance to the care I received in hospital, which was always both efficient and compassionate.

I'm really shocked. All my operations were elective orthopaedic ones, I wonder if orthopaedics is less pressured for staff, because orthopaedic issues aren't generally life threatening.

@AnneElliott

I have no idea what a 'fub list' is *@mummykel16* but no doubt it's another example of unprofessional behaviour that goes on in hospitals.

It's the list those who complain go on, the F u b**ch list. It's why many patients tell visitors not to complain, because they will suffer when the visitor has gone home. Luckily with the spread of phones some is now getting recorded

@Soontobe60 I’m so sorry that you’ve lost your mum so recently.
The nurses sound like angels, I’m so glad she had a pain free death 💐

@Lemonlady22

The nurses need maintenance to sort the call bell issue out. Can you get out of bed to press the red button on the wall..the emergency bell..they will soon come running then. Unfortunately the call bell is exactly that, a call bell, if they are busy it can takes ages.

Please don't use the emergency bell. All the staff will have to leave whatever they are doing (which may potentially be a very unwell patient) to come and see what the issue is. If, however, a group of them are at the nursing station, that is disgraceful.

[quote Wam90]@Soontobe60 I’m so sorry that you’ve lost your mum so recently.
The nurses sound like angels, I’m so glad she had a pain free death 💐[/quote]
Thank you.

[quote BlondeWidow]@Soontobe60 I'm really, really sorry about the loss of your mum and I'm glad the nurses were fab. However unfortunately that's just not the reality of the NHS; And that's not their fault! It's the Tory cuts leaving them both short staffed and short of Resources [/quote]
Bollocks to Tory Cuts, it’s just lazy cow nurses that have always been about. When they “nursed” my dying mother under Labour and my dying father under the Tories. They stood around laughing at the nurses station,ignoring real needs laughing and chatting all the same.

Thanks for your responses, although I see this has turned into a bit of a debate!

Apologies for no responses, I’ve tested positive for COVID and have had a stressful few days, definitely not what I want at 36 weeks pregnant. They moved me off of the ward and into a room by myself, this time with a working call button. They did manage to lose two of my swab samples mind, which did piss me off as I had a crazy temperature and felt so dry all through the night, the three swabs of my nose gave me two lovely nose bleeds! So it took so long to actually be told I had COVID. Luckily the baby is all good for the moment and is wriggling as usual. Currently on antibiotics and blood thinner injections, hopefully I’ll be better soon and won’t need any further medication or treatment!