Why don't nhs night staff want you to sleep?

[ICaughtTonsillitisFromAFriendsKid]

Sleep is a great healer.
So why is everything done to keep ward patients awake all night? (Well it feels that way)

In the day the wonderful staff are very kind, but overnight, why no whispering, at all? Not even stage whispering? I've just staggered out of bed trying not to rip out my cathetera and canula to pull the bible sheet curtain round a bit, but everyone else is left with curtains pushed back to the walls.

Everyone is so kind and happy to help, I don't even want to say anything, but I'm just exhausted, as are all of these very poorly ladies.

It seems the doctors are not too bad at whispering, I must concede.

It’s not just the elderly! I’ve seen young people striking up conversations while in a bay. I’ve even seen friendships develop. Sometimes it can be a comfort and support to have people around you who are going through something similar because they get it in a way others can’t. It’s really not as clear cut as you might think.

They’re not smarties 😱

As a person who works in NHS and sometimes does nights I totally understand how you are feeling , and most of us do try to be quiet, but it's very hard when we have to do people's obs I hate having to wake people up, we have to do checks on patients that cant move much( check skin etc) someone always needs the toilet , and other needs which require call buzzers then there's drip and feed machine alarms going off, and that's without someone banging a door etc , or tripping over a zimmer frame or drip stand , and then you have a new arrival which warrants more noise , , I would say ear plugs but can't guarantee you won't be disturbed to have your obs done

I'm not sure it would be that helpful tbh. Trip Advisor is generally for things one generally has some choice about!
I remember seeing a poster in A and E once when my dad had been ambulanced there. It was along the lines of "how did we do? Would you recommend to family and friends?"
I mean the clue is in accident or emergency. In an emergency you would take a friend or family to the nearest appropriate medical facility, surely? Not drive to one 3 hours away because it had a better rating?
And even for planned medical procedures or treatment, how often do you get a choice about where that will take place?

@Fizbosshoes Good point! Although I still think it might make some health care practitioners think twice about how to treat their patients.

@mothernurse Probably not, but it would be nice to have a choice for introverted people like me with sleeping problems and a great sensitivity to noise.

@Vincitveritas Oh absolutely. I’d love it if people had the choice. I’d take the single room too!!

I can speak from experience that most nurses try to talk quietly, I used to work nights at a hospital,unfortunately people still get ill at night, some need to talk and get some reassurance,some arrest,some suffer from mental health issues despite being on a medical or surgical ward and hey, some poor folk pass away and their relatives need informing to get here asap.
Everybody knows sleep is important but life does not stop at night especially in hospitals.

Can the staff add their own counter comment expaining their position if they feel the review is unfair? No, didn't think so.

How's about we don't try and destroy the morale in the NHS anymore than it already is, as more staff will leave and you will have more to complain about.

Just use PALS if you have something to say.

Terrifyingly limited medical knowledge yet they feel able to comment on the running of the NHS. Sums much of this thread up.

When I had my ds the 18yo in the bed opposite had her partner, mum, dad, family, cousins etc for extea hours visiting and when I complained I got told it was baby blued...no it was lack of sleep because someone had 12 visitors more than they were supposed to at 12pm. (The 18yo also wouldn't breastfeed and the baby wouldn't take a bottle so it screamed ALL night as well!!) I assume she didn't get that many visitors for the other 10 children she's now had...

Myself and my colleagues all agreed that letting the patients sleep was the best thing we could do for them. Unfortunately mixed rooms of close observations put paid to that. To top that off, part of EVERY patients care plan was. 2 hrly rounding and 1-4 hrly observations. Being in hospital can sometimes be the worst place to be if you’re feeling unwell;it can also save your life so we just have to suck it up and be grateful for first world problems .

It was a bit much expecting an 18 year old to breastfeed! 😁

Aren't 18 year olds weaned these days?

My worst experience was nearly 19 years ago when my DS was born. I'd had a c/s, plus I was 40 and exhausted. DS was a little shit about sleeping, and I was kept in hospital for a week after he was born for various reasons.

So, one night, a midwife took pity on me, and took him out of my room - only to return very shortly after with my bawling son... turned out a junior doctor had said, "what a beautiful baby" AND LIFTED HIM!! I do hope that karma visited her!!

Truthfully I wish we had more control over nights. On most wards usually night staff do both medication rounds so 8 is handover which can be anything from 8-9, then you have medication rounds which can take over an hour if you have a lot (and get interrupted a lot), then document that so by 10.30/11 this is usually your first real chance to do patient obs and spend time with your patient. Unless you made a point to try and squeeze it in before medication.
As a student I was taught your generally expected to take a patient’s Obs about every two-four hours and saying “they were asleep” isn’t usually considered a good enough excuse not to. Particularly for patients with a history of heart conditions etc. I’ve been totally crucified for not doing obs and letting a patient sleep. You then usually have morning meds which some people start preparing at around 5 depending on the amount of patients.

Generally, I always try to whisper but others don’t always bother as given the amount of people, things moving through the ward and bells - it’s noisy. I’d really recommend noise cancelling earphones/ear plugs and a eye mask aswell. In most wards your totally welcome to pull the curtains around but if for example, you’re in a bed next to a patient with dementia/someone high risk, closing your curtains will actually block the nurse’s view of them. So that’s why they’re left open

On physch wards?

I seem to remember the point of the study being to compare patient outcomes in the US, where people usually have private rooms, and the UK, where people are usually on open wards.

The main points talked about were the lack of space in UK hospitals vs US and that in the US patients recorded feelings of loneliness which possibly led to worse outcomes.

I’m not sure I buy it though.

I thought you might want to know

I AM STILL IN ~PRISON~ HOSPITAL

Films led me to believe people would visit with bananas and grapes.

In the words of Dwight,

FALSE.

Don't worry I have now secured a supply of bananas. And a small meringue based dessert. Onwards, hospital inmates, onwards.

Ahh cross out font fail. Never mind!

Jeez

Arggg i didn't mean to post this on someone elses post I'm sorry!! I'm new here, I'm tired and hormonal and I can't figure out how to delete it, I'm sorry!!!

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/23/sleepless-nights-make-people-more-selfish-and-asocial-study

Staff working nights are more selfish.

you’re in a bed next to a patient with dementia/someone high risk, closing your curtains will actually block the nurse’s view of them. So that’s why they’re left open

It's not my responsibility to ensure you can see your patient without having to get up off your arse from the nurse's station. My dignity and right to privacy as patient is just as important. I say this as a NHS worker myself. The patient who is higher risk should be the first in the bay if visibility is the issue.

I thought you might want to know

I AM STILL IN ~PRISON~ HOSPITAL

Films led me to believe people would visit with bananas and grapes.

In the words of Dwight,

FALSE.

Don't worry I have now secured a supply of bananas. And a small meringue based dessert. Onwards, hospital inmates, onwards.

I love that you quoted Dwight!!!! Hope the banana and dessert went down well