Tips For Hospital Visitors
Patients are in hospital because they are ill, not for a rest. There is no rest for patients in hospital these days.
If you have a family member in hospital, work the schedule which suits them and you and stick to it. They will look forward to your visit each day.
If you have a friend in hospital, telephone the hospital beforehand to find out if the patient is well enough to receive visitors. Make the visit short. If the family happen to be there at the same time, excuse yourself as soon as you conveniently can. Too many visitors tire patients.
The Golden Rules
- Never ever visit anyone in hospital if you are unwell and that means sore throats, colds, flu or diarrhoea - keep away.
- Liaise with family member about your potential visit. Don't arrive in droves like it is a big social occasion. Space out your visits and don't stay too long.
- Do not discuss the patient's prognosis in front of the patient if it is not positive.
- Unless a patient shows a desire to discuss his or her illness, keep off the subject.
- Do not alarm patients by discussing your previous operations and hospital stays. Sick people do not want to hear them, particularly your labour, ladies!
- Choose cheerful topics to talk about and never say anything that would worry the patient such as 'wasn't it shocking your dear old friend died in a car crash the other day'.
- Stand at the bedside to one side, as being a patient can be like at the tennis with your head going back and forth.
- Leave the ward when the patient wants to use the lavatory - give them privacy.
- If a patient has other friends visiting, don't end up chatting to them and ignore the patient. People noise, like chattering, can be overwhelming when you're ill.
- See that you confine your visits to the visiting hours, always being mindful that the patient may not be up to a visitor.
- Never take a friend with you whom the patient does not know.
- Never ever smoke in front of a patient, even if invited to do so - they are not in hospital for a holiday.
Sending flowers
If you take or send flowers, it is a good idea to have the bunch arranged ready to be placed in the vase or boxed ready to be plonked on the shelf; saves the nurse time and your floral arrangement.
Are you a visitor from another planet?
- Arrives for the day and just sits
- Complains about the length of the journey and what a hassle it was to get there
- Whinges about the cost of parking
- Anxious over parking inspector and a potential parking ticket
- Talks at the top of their voice and never stops talking
- Eats a Big Mac at the bedside in a ward shared with other patients and stinks the ward out
- Sneakily lights up a cigarette
- Uses the patients' lavatory, bathroom, soap and towels
- Disregards the nurse
Then you need to read this:
Be quiet. Hospitals are not hotels.
Be considerate. Patients in hospital today are a lot sicker.
Patients are ill. They need quiet surroundings and consideration at all times.
Consider other patients. Don't think drawing the curtains around the bed blocks out the noise, it doesn't.
Curb the chatter. Visitors chattering away can be draining and exhausting when people are ill.
Be observant. Don't get in the way of medical staff doing their job.
Behave. If medical and nursing staff ask you to leave, do so.
Hospital infections can and do kill patients
Do you value the patient's health? If so:
- Don't visit with a cold and that includes your children and babies.
- Don't go touching patients without having given your hands a good scrub and wash your face before you go kissing them.
- Don't cough all over a patient - cover your mouth and wash your hands immediately.
- Don't blow your nose in front of the patient - go outside and when you do, wash your hands immediately.
- Don't use their soap - it may have a deadly superbug on it, and you may not only catch it, but spread it.
So give patients a hand - CLEAN HANDS. Wash your hands. Help win the battle against infection!
Do the right thing by patients - they are a lot sicker in hospital these days and catch anything lurking around wards.
Safety Tip
If you see a disaster waiting to happen, e.g. power cord in walkway, IV drip line under feet, sleeve dangling in wheelchair, speak up and prevent a mishap. Safety is everyone's business.