Student nurse using phone during procedure

[MikeRafone]

On a children’s ward

curtains closed and nurses is taken blood from child, student nurse is standing behind nurse but further down the bed. Student gets phone out and not sure what she is doing - she then sees me looking and quickly puts it away. The phone being out was certainly not to do with the patient

im comforting child during the blood being taken

are nurses allowed phones out whilst working and working around children?

not sure m if there are rules,

This! A student nurse should be following all rules or should be called out on it.

It’s a huge safeguarding risk to have phones being used near patients, especially children. I’ve worked in schools and nurseries, phones are not allowed in the workplace at all!

Obvious safeguarding issues here, as well as being very unprofessional. You absolutely should report this to the ward manager OP and highlight the possible safeguarding and confidentiality implications.

She could be keeping her log of procedures observed on her phone, as long as no patient identifiable detail included that's fine.

It is a major safeguarding concern for staff to have mobile phones around children. This is general policy in schools, nurseries and hospitals. A work phone is different but she should not have it out in front of patients. I would remind you to research the national inquiries when children have been abused in hospitals , nurseries and schools and the safeguarding recommendations.

Well perhaps she could write it on a small notepad ? How did nurses manage without phones in the dark days before mobile phones, pray tell?

It’s not the dark days anymore.

They probably didn't have all the observations and records online only accessible via work mobiles in the dark ages.

Because you’re not supposed to for multiple reasons. Increases the workload, increases the chances of an error when you input from a written record, increases the chances of it just not been done full stop Because you step out of the bay and someone grabs you for something else and you forget. Confidentiality is an issue as well. Do we put your name next to it or just hope we remember who it’s for.

We used to have paper notes and lockable trolleys but they’re all gone.

Well in all the years of safeguarding (level 3) I’ve done with the nhs it’s never been mentioned. Not by my manager, the

safeguarding lead or the online e-learning. 🤷🏻‍♀️

and how do you propose a nurse records obs which is done on a work iPhone if you can’t have it out?

Source? Medical staff use phones for their work, including working with children. What is your source that says a phone should not be out in front of patients? How are they supposed to record things?

Since when?

I’d think it’s likely inappropriate. The bigger question is why you are so invested in this. Did you think she was filming it? If not, inappropriate but meh, no effect on the child from the sound of it.

Well perhaps she could write it on a small notepad ? How did nurses manage without phones in the dark days before mobile phones, pray tell?

That’s a ridiculous comment. How did we manage before modern anaesthetics, or 1001 surgical techniques, let’s just go back to ‘times before’🙄. Sure, let’s all pretend there is no electronic medium available.

Phones are often used to log observations in hospital: this is fairly common

Our ward staff use iPods to note observations in an app (not suggesting this nurse was doing that but don’t freak out if you see nurse on what looks like a phone). Senior nurses will also have mobiles - we have a WhatsApp group where we share urgent operational updates.

She could have been looking something up. Last time my DH was in hospital the nurses had to Google something about their care re his intervention.

Phone screens are some of the most contaminated surfaces we have. Aren't they carrying more bacteria than a toilet seat? BNF should be on hand as hard copy, and wards have PCs to look stuff up.

What are the hygiene measures around this?

Doesn't sound quite right to me IF it was her own phone. Especially being on a children's ward.

It is worth noting though that some trusts have staff using work phones for obs etc. don't know if that's the case here or not but it's just an iPhone and they all have one. Might not be the case here though if she's hurriedly put it away when she saw you looking

Was your child well looked after by the staff on the ward?
Did they do everything they could for him/her, ie round the clock medications, observations, chasing test results?
I'm not sure if you realise, but nurses and patients aren't 1:1. They will usually have a list of other patients to care for - all with very different needs.
If you answered yes, then I'd think about why you would be feeling put out merely by a student nurse looking at her phone for a quick second.
Student nurse's are not allowed to use their phones in the patient's bed space. Thank being said, they are permitted this look up patient guidelines and information to do with medications.

honestly some people are living in the dark ages! phones are widely used in hospitals. They get cleaned. They're no more filthy than the wheels of the beds/trolleys/bleeps (which it will astonish people, but we do take to the bathroom with us) and probably worst of all, the bottoms of the bags people bring in themselves. We don't rub our phones on people and we clean our hands/wear gloves. They're a really important source of information that save enormous amounts of time and prevent stuff-ups on a regular basis. They're also an almost universal means by which we communicate with each other, including important operational updates. Eventually the NHS workforce will catch on that we're being royally screwed by using our personal phones for work and that the Trusts should be providing us with work phones or contributing to our bills! (it's vanishingly unlikely that clinical staff will have either..) Also worth noting that while phones are vital at work, their overuse is one of the most toxic things about working in the NHS - it's almost impossible to have a day off or holiday because of the invasion of work onto our personal devices and the non-stop stream of chatter and the expectation that we'll reply to messages when we're not at work.

@user793847984375948 there are none. They live in our pockets.

Not if the nurse disinfects the phone - which she/he would be doing regularly if they are using it as a piece of medical equipment. They also wash and sanitise their hands around 200 times a day, so I highly doubt their phone would have many if any germs at all.

@Rainbows41

???
So the phone travels between the users hands and their pockets. What's the problem?