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?

Hope you start feeling better soon

Aw the nurses and midwives are amazing in my local hospital. This thread has brought back memories of the lovely midwives who sat patiently for literally hours in the middle of the night holding the thing on my stomach to get a trace of my babies heart because her heart rate was going haywire and she kept wriggling around and kicking it off. I used to fall asleep and snore like a train and they would gently ask me to turn to the other side and I'd be so cross 🙈 feel like I should get them a 'sorry for being such a grumpy bitch with such a wriggly baby' card now

And a previous operation I had once when I was a bit miffed at the nurses chatting at the desk in the night and not tending to my 'needs' (my need for the woman in the next bed to turn off Netflix on her laptop at 3am) , but when I went to the toilet and went all white and shaky I staggered out and they were there, propping me up. They're there when you really need them ❤️

I don’t know about other hospitals but certainly at mine we do not get paid for breaks. It’s a 12 hr shift that is paid as a 10.5 hr. And yes of course nurses are there to care but it shouldn’t be at anyones expense, they shouldn’t work 12 hrs and no break. It’s not ok for 3 nurses to look after 30 patients and be expected to work through their breaks. I’m admin so I see a lot from where I am and yep there are crap nurses but there are a lot who are burning out and leaving because they have had enough. No one should work with no breaks. Be outraged at poor care, be outraged at crap nurses but be outraged for the nurses working in shocking conditions as well.

Hope you feel better soon @peachy3

@peachy3
Sorry to hear you've got Covid.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I think it's the generalisation that people are defending themselves against, and I will too.
Not all nurses/healthcare staff are lazy and unkind. Some definitely are. Not all night shift staff sit around chatting, ignoring patients. Some do.
There's less staff in at nights. No idea why. Same number of patients, same care needs.
I've sat down on night shifts, I've chatted (quietly). But only on the very rare occasion that there is nothing to do.
I've worked with lazy people. I've managed half a ward by myself often. I've had ridiculously hectic nights, going from patient to patient, then seeing when I get home the group selfies from the people who were supposed to be working too.
You will at times see nurses chatting at the nurses station. Sometimes it's because everything is done, and those nurses will keep checking all of their patients to ensure nobody needs anything. Sometimes it's because they're lazy, and they'll be one or two healthcare assistants rushing about doing everything by themselves.
For every nurse who is there to do the drug round only, there are many others who go above and beyond. Who go home and cry because of the guilt of not being able to do more than they were physically able to.
Sometimes call bells go unanswered because of laziness. Sometimes it's because of a medical emergency. Sometimes the nurse you see on the phone is repeatedly calling the on call doctor for the patient who they are gravely concerned about.
There are so many other reasons that call bells go unanswered, it's not just laziness. Night shift staff get a bad press, yet they do the same amount of work with less staff.
Please don't generalise.
For the OP, absolutely complain. You're well in your rights to and it's potentially a dangerous situation. No one should go without care for so long.

Not all are lazy, some are, as you say. It's true that sometimes a ward is badly managed , with poor or weak leadership. That affects the whole team and culture. Definitely raise it.

No, I pretty sure she's paid for NHS care already through her taxes.
Only the rich deserve good treatment? Not everyone can afford to pay privately and they should be given decent care also

The post above was supposed to quote the poster who told her to pay privately if she wasn't happy

@Sodiit such a good post and put far better than I did.
The ward I worked on has changed massively and undergone a huge culture change. Was formerly run like clockwork with an iron hand, everyone was unhappy but knew where they stood. Very high standards. Now it's more lenient but everyone is still unhappy. Certain folk (minority) take advantage impacting the rest of us. The managers (band 7s and to a certain extent the 6s too) are distanced, no clinical shifts but lots of meetings. We are not allowed to drink bottled water on the ward and yet they have a tea tray with brews on tap. I've always maintained that the higher you go in the NHS the less stress and discomfort. It's true...

@Sodiit

I think it's the generalisation that people are defending themselves against, and I will too. Not all nurses/healthcare staff are lazy and unkind. Some definitely are. Not all night shift staff sit around chatting, ignoring patients. Some do. There's less staff in at nights. No idea why. Same number of patients, same care needs. I've sat down on night shifts, I've chatted (quietly). But only on the very rare occasion that there is nothing to do. I've worked with lazy people. I've managed half a ward by myself often. I've had ridiculously hectic nights, going from patient to patient, then seeing when I get home the group selfies from the people who were supposed to be working too. You will at times see nurses chatting at the nurses station. Sometimes it's because everything is done, and those nurses will keep checking all of their patients to ensure nobody needs anything. Sometimes it's because they're lazy, and they'll be one or two healthcare assistants rushing about doing everything by themselves. For every nurse who is there to do the drug round only, there are many others who go above and beyond. Who go home and cry because of the guilt of not being able to do more than they were physically able to. Sometimes call bells go unanswered because of laziness. Sometimes it's because of a medical emergency. Sometimes the nurse you see on the phone is repeatedly calling the on call doctor for the patient who they are gravely concerned about. There are so many other reasons that call bells go unanswered, it's not just laziness. Night shift staff get a bad press, yet they do the same amount of work with less staff. Please don't generalise. For the OP, absolutely complain. You're well in your rights to and it's potentially a dangerous situation. No one should go without care for so long.

Great post. I just disregard the lazy, cow nurses posts as clearly those posters have issues. Internalised misogyny is a massive problem and nurses -always female, giggling , always lazy are always the ones at fault

3 male nurses have been removed from the NMC register recently for sexual misconduct.
Does this make all male nurses sexual predators?
Thats the laziness ,the generalisation and the nastiness and it reflects right back on that poster.
The issues are a small minority and its extremely difficult to deal with them.
HR are utterly useless and there to defend the NHS from litigation.
Those who speak up are then in the position where they are bullied and ripped to shreds by HR and managers.
They dont want to hear it and so its easier just to carry the lazy ones and do their work.
The NHS has a terrible culture of this and often poor behaviour is linked to stress.
The stress of constantly trying to provide care when its impossible, being ignored and blamed.
Wellbeing events that we dont have time to attend, emails about smiling and supporting each other.
Its gaslighting essentially with " everythings fine" when is clearly isnt.
Woe betide you if you speak up though, it will be you to blame.

I'm sorry the midwives on your ward have been rubbish. When I was induced I had a midwife roll her eyes at me for requesting pain meds at 5cm dilated. Most of them were amazing but I do know it happens. From my side, I'm not a midwife but a nurse on an elderly care ward. The only reason we get complaints atm is because we are so busy with personal care and have no reception staff that we can't always answer phone calls. Night shifts are slightly less busy but we have a lot of patients with Dementia who should have one to one supervision but there aren't enough staff.

Sent too soon , personally my ward isn't like what you described but we can't pretend it doesn't happen. There are lazy staff everywhere, office workers etc but HCP's should really take their job more seriously.

@BattenbergdowntheHatches

Stop being so polite for starters. I’ve been in your position and the bloody nurses were unplugging the call buttons so they didn’t have to answer them.

I like pp’s idea of calling the switchboard, otherwise a loud coo-ee and synchronized bell dinging by everyone on the ward should soon get some attention.

Hope you get sorted soon.

Blimey! I am not young, nothing much shocks me any more but the nurses unplugging the call buttons! F*ing hell! I was a nurse for nearly 20 years, and did my General training from 1979-82, the old-style training where we were NHS employees as trainees and were more like apprentices, learning on the job, than the university-based training they have been receiving for the last couple of decades. If any nurse had done such a thing then, it would have caused ructions and she may even have been instantly dismissed! What the Hell has happened to my former profession? I have heard other stories of wilful neglect too, in various different hospitals and it makes me wonder, is it because they've all been university trained and have degrees now and think the mundane work of basic nursing care is beneath them? If not, then what? I feel I should apologise but then why should I because I NEVER would have dreamed of being so callous and uncaring, nor do I think most nurses from my time would have! Bloody Hell! OP I think yourself and the other patients need to be more assertive, which is hard when you're unwell and you shouldn't have to be but, this cannot be allowed to go on! If ye don't feel able, could someone close to you complain for you and the other ladies! I understand ye don't want to upset the nurses BUT if it's short-staffing that's the problem, this might shake things up and turn out better for the i.e. the management employing more nurses, even if they're agency nurses. If it's unprofessional behaviour and a culture of neglect has developed on that ward, then the staff need to be reprimanded and even disciplined because that is NOT acceptable! As a former nurse, I apologise because this makes me ashamed! I'm sorry!

I just disregard the lazy, cow nurses posts as clearly those posters have issues.
Internalised misogyny is a massive problem and nurses -always female, giggling , always lazy are always the ones at fault

Nah, I don't have issues but the poor elderly men left to their own devices who were pressing their buzzers and calling out for help had issues- issues with the lazy nurses ignoring them.
I was supposed to be there for my DS but spent a lot of the time running round to get help for the others on the ward, even helping one old boy to get comfortable in the bed because he could hardly move and the nurses were ignoring him. If they were rushed off their feet helping other patients I would be more sympathetic but they weren't, they were sitting around chatting.

Internalised misogyny because most nurses just happen to be female? Err ok then. The nurses I saw were all women, if they were men I'd still think they were lazy sods

Good point about the need for degrees now, maybe the really loving, caring nurses are not applying anymore or as you say the ones who do go into it think the menial jobs are beneath them. Whatever it is it's clearly a problem that seems to be getting worse.

Goodness OP you have had a time of it. Hope you're better soon

@FebFab why not apply ? What's stopping you ? Decent wage, superb working conditions, very little stress, universal respect from the public, very family friendly hours, well staffed modern wards with adequate staff, I'm surprised more of you aren't applying ?

@FebFab

I just disregard the lazy, cow nurses posts as clearly those posters have issues. Internalised misogyny is a massive problem and nurses -always female, giggling , always lazy are always the ones at fault

Nah, I don't have issues but the poor elderly men left to their own devices who were pressing their buzzers and calling out for help had issues- issues with the lazy nurses ignoring them.
I was supposed to be there for my DS but spent a lot of the time running round to get help for the others on the ward, even helping one old boy to get comfortable in the bed because he could hardly move and the nurses were ignoring him. If they were rushed off their feet helping other patients I would be more sympathetic but they weren't, they were sitting around chatting.

Internalised misogyny because most nurses just happen to be female? Err ok then. The nurses I saw were all women, if they were men I'd still think they were lazy sods

Good point about the need for degrees now, maybe the really loving, caring nurses are not applying anymore or as you say the ones who do go into it think the menial jobs are beneath them. Whatever it is it's clearly a problem that seems to be getting worse.

Goodness OP you have had a time of it. Hope you're better soon

I hadnt actually seen your post, it was another poster I was referring to not you. There was zero context just all nurses are ---- insert nasty generalisation here.

So not about you!

The issue of University educated nurses always comes up.
I trained in the 80s and I can assure you its a very different job now.
Absolutely not mundane but highly skilled.
I would love to be paid to wash and mobilise patients but there is way more to it.
Hcas perform personal care, as I said most nurses would love to do it but who will give antibiotics, dialysis,give immunotherapy, chemo, blood products etc in their place .
Yep no one!

Treatments exist now that were unheard of then and patients in hospital dont recuperate there anymore so a very different set of skills is required.
No we arent doing a doctors job either before that gem comes up.
Doctors came to help in the pandemic, did nurse shifts and were astonished at the skills nurses possess.
The issue of unplugging buzzers, this is appalling and Ive never seen this, its absolutely a disciplinary matter.
However in the past I came across some absolutely wicked older nurses who belittled and bullied both patients and younger nurses appallingly.
Thank goodness they have all gone now, it was terrible.
Thats where the phrase " eating your own" comes from.

What we have now is a profession that is expected to magic the rabbit out of a hat.
Provide excellent ,personalised, safe care in a generalised, underfunded system.
Insitutional neglect is rife,patients and staff are pawns in the system and you need to be as tough as nails to stick it out.
Many dont and the number of nurses who are off sick with MH issues is huge.

Anyone who comes across situations where patients are deliberately ignored, prevented from calling or left alone , please please complain in writing.
Its not acceptable at all.

[quote Armadeus]@FebFab why not apply ? What's stopping you ? Decent wage, superb working conditions, very little stress, universal respect from the public, very family friendly hours, well staffed modern wards with adequate staff, I'm surprised more of you aren't applying ?[/quote]
Hahaha!!!!!

www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/26/stressed-nhs-staff-quit-at-record-rate-of-400-a-week-fuelling-fears-over-care-quality?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

why not apply ? What's stopping you ? Decent wage, superb working conditions, very little stress, universal respect from the public, very family friendly hours, well staffed modern wards with adequate staff, I'm surprised more of you aren't applying ?

Why should she apply? You chose to, not her. Why are some of you unable to discuss this without dismissing people's experiences of shoddy care? If you're not one of these nurses, maybe don't be so defensive? We don't all have to tug our forelocks that you deign to lower yourselves to treat patients! You get paid to do a job, you have a choice whether to stay in that job or leave. Patients don't have a choice. They are vulnerable and in many cases upset and scared, in pain and missing family. Have some empathy.

Anyone who comes across situations where patients are deliberately ignored, prevented from calling or left alone , please please complain in writing.
Its not acceptable at all.

No it isn't, is it?

Why should she apply?You chose to, not her. Why are some of you unable to discuss this without dismissing people's experiences of shoddy care? If you're not one of these nurses, maybe don't be so defensive? We don't all have to tug our forelocks that you deign to lower yourselves to treat patients! You get paid to do a job, you have a choice whether to stay in that job or leave. Patients don't have a choice. They are vulnerable and in many cases upset and scared, in pain and missing family. Have some empathy.

I think that was tongue in cheek 😬
Obviously they and others wont apply as its too bloody tough.
Nurses are replying to the generalised nasty comments about their profession.
None of them would dream of behaving like this.
Why are threads like this started?
The Matron wont see it,it resolves nothing but ends up in nurse bashing.
No forelock tugging is required , blame the system generally and name nurses individually to the relevent people who can actually do something.
Complain in writing, name them.
Anonymous moaning doesnt help us either.

@HarrietteNightingale expecting patients to tug their forelocks ? Wow what a weird presumption.
Any case thousands of experienced HCP including myself are leaving the profession, mainly retiring. Our pensions department has never known anything like it. So unless something is done to improve retention the situation, including sub standard care is going to get worse.

Oh that's sad @peachy3
Rotten to get covid at 36 weeks pregnant. At least they can monitor you and the baby. I've had covid for 10 days and am at home (cev but not pg). I had all the vaccinations and booster but I can't shift it as it's rotten and gone to my lungs. I hope you and baby get through it, and that you get better care now.
Lots of fluids is important and try to sleep as much as you can to help your body clear it.