to think there should be a telephone curfew in hospitals?

[LadyBiscuit]

Why do hospitals allow patients to talk on the phone all day and all night? It drives me bonkers. There was a woman in the opposite bed when I had DS who talked virtually all night long which drove me slightly insane but at least she was talking quietly and of course there were wailing babes. But yesterday I went to see my sister who is in hospital and the woman next to her was on the phone the entire time I was there (nearly an hour) talking really loudly on her mobile the entire time. At 11.30pm she was still at it. So my sister asked her if she would desist given that, you know, they are all (presumably) seriously ill and that. The woman gave her a mouthful of abuse and carried on chatting away.

Eventually my sister went and asked a nurse if she could have a word and the nurse told her that there was nothing she could do. WTF?? AIBU or should phone conversations in hospitals have an 11pm curfew so that everyone can get some sleep (the person on the phone as well as the rest of the ward)?

Mobiles are banned at my local hospital, there are signs everywhere telling you to switch them off.

They aren't necessarily, even though the signs say so, and I was told that by the nurses depending on which ward I was on (I managed 5)
Even High Dependency they asked if I had a mobile I could use as I was distressed and wanted a friendly person to speak to and I was hooked up to the machines. Intensive Care, no, but as I was ventilated most of my time there I couldn't talk anyway, but on the other wards they can be used I was told, with discretion, though as the charge went on mine after the first day I didn't have the option.

Now I'm probably making this all about me, but whilst I do not agree at all with inane crap at any time of the day disturbing others, nor fish and chips as it happens, (if you can't eat the food, and I can see why, it's vile, at least eat something cold that doesn't smell), I do think a friendly voice/text can be so important.
I can't really comment on before mobiles, I've never been in hospital before mobiles, and never before in the circumstances I just was, so my issue is with how it is now.

I guess I'm still traumatised by it, know it could happen again and working through it, so I'm more emotive than many may be.

When i had my DS1 in the hospital in vienna i was told that i have could have the phone switched on by my bed but that NO calls would be put through between 9pm - 7am nor would i be able to make any calls. I did have my mobile but had it on vibrate under my pillow as it was mostly text messages from my family over here.

YANBU at all about the general issue. I don't think a rule is the answer here but I do think that nurses should have in their minds that most patients will benefit most from quiet between 10 and 6, anyway. Certainly in the hosp I had ds in they switched all the tellies off at 9pm (centrally as these were theones that were made without off switches ). Whereas my poor sister in Lewisham Hospital had tvs in her postnatal ward that were on all night.

I wouldn't see a rule put in place though because, for example, years ago it was much less common for parents to be in the hospital with their children. I wouldn't want a return to that policy, and those parents need to be in touch with the outside world.

There are visiting hours, so why not phone hours? (With exceptions for urgent calls, of course).

YANBU. There should be a phone curfew (midnight to 7am should surely be acceptable) and much more strictly observed rules about visiting. There can always be exceptions in exceptional circumstances.