Hospital Wards

My MIL is having open heart surgery today.  I went to visit her yesterday and there were 30 people in a ward!  At least 6 people per bay and all of the curtains were open.  There was very few staff on the ward and when I asked specific questions about my MIL, they answered them (after I waited), but never asked who I was.  Is this normal?

I have had experience with maternity care, but this is the first other hospital experience I've had in the UK.

I think this sounds like a typical general medical ward.

My unit doesn't even have bays.  It is a nightingale ward.  15 beds lined up down the right side of the ward and 15 beds lined up down the left side.  We usually have 1 or 2 RN's and 2 Health care assistants.  That's it.

 It is illegal for staff to give out any information to anyone who is not listed on the notes as the patients next of kin.  It is also illegal for us to give information over the phone, or even to acknowlege that the patient they are inquiring about is actually on the ward.  Many nurses will break the law just to get people off of their backs so they can get back to what they are doing.  When a patient has visitors, I usually can figure out who is who without them realizing, and if it is safe for me to answer their questions.  If I am unsure in anyway I tell them to ask the next of kin to get in touch, and tell them to get the info they want from him/her.  Visitors often get abusive when told this, so a lot of nurses just cave when they are asked questions. 

When I had Jack at Warwick hospital, there were 8 beds to a ward. I had Jack in June and this week was really hot. The nurses insisted we keep our curtains open to circulate the air (no a/c in UK hosps??). I just had a c/section and just wanted to sleep. My husband couldnt visit me each day during family visiting hours so I remember laying there alone with my newborn in total agony with the curtains wide open while everyone else had their visitors. I felt totally exposed. I wasnt happy at all.

i'm a total over planner- just the way i am- to be honest this is what is scares me the most about giving birth in the UK.  staying in a ward with your baby, 11-29 other women, their babies.  argh.  my worst nightware.

i'm a total over planner- just the way i am- to be honest this is what is scares me the most about giving birth in the UK.  staying in a ward with your baby, 11-29 other women, their babies.  argh.  my worst nightware.

Its really not so bad. I had two experiences in two different hospitals. In the first hosp I stayed at all of us gals on the ward would have such a good time together when visiting hours were over. We would all sit around and gossip like we were old friends.
In fact a few of us are still in touch now four years later.

I think this sounds like a typical general medical ward.

My unit doesn't even have bays.  It is a nightingale ward.  15 beds lined up down the right side of the ward and 15 beds lined up down the left side.  We usually have 1 or 2 RN's and 2 Health care assistants.  That's it.

 

Jules, I am totally with you.  It sounds awful.

I think many hospital wards do have the 6 bed bays now.  My trust is the red-haired step child of the NHS.

In some children's wards it depends ..the trust I am at the moment has an ENT clinic , out patients and general all in a ward and each bay has 4 beds and there's a total of 3 bays. Not to mention a playroom , parents respite room and a school.The rest are cubicle /isolation rooms so the total amount of  patients is 25. The ward is pretty decked out with staff so a paed nurse can have 3-6 patients to care but there are so many student nurses at this trust that every reg nurse has 2 student nurses (sometimes that's more work than having none) Another trust had again 25 beds  4 beds per bay and then 2 central open bays with 6 beds per bay as well as some cubicles. We had 3-5 patients to care for. One Trust had 25 beds nearly all were cubicles then 2 large open bays with 6 patients per bay which we assigned for teenage patients. All these wards were general children's ward.

When I was working in hospitals in the states there were hospitals decked out this way as well and as a nursing assistant I had on average 8 patients to care for . One of the Maternity ward in Virginia has bays with 4 women per bay so I don't get why folk find that weird when they come here ..it's not a UK only phenomena

When I had Jess in So. London I was in a bay with 6 beds ...it was august and there were 3 women in the bay it was kinda nice not being alone when visiting time was over ...We all chit chatted about big brother (Nasty nick got booted out the night before) and when I wanted privacy I just pulled the curtain.....


edit to add: NICU (neonate intensive care)  I don't like the units because all the newborns are kept in an incubator and there is a chair next to it that's it no privacy so when doctor's rounds happen everyone just bunches in so a parent of another child can easily hear any information about the next child... or worse when there is an emmergency in can be traumatic for anyone that might be there visiting their child.

the hospital where I gave birth had 4 bays per room instead of large wards.  each bay was VERY large and had curtains you could close round it.  but there was only one bathroom.

i started in one but was moved to a private room that night after developing a postpartum infection and fever.  

gave birth in a large private birthing room w/its own large bathroom - didn't get time to use the birthing bath/pool, tho.  

so again this is something that varies by region.  like alicia, i appreciated the company, particularly the more experienced mums enjoying helping us newbies.

day surgery centres are also becoming more common.  they're VERY common in the US.  i've known people who had thryoidectomies and mastectomies who had their ops in day surgery centres and were released in 23 hours.

also, if you have an uncomplicated vaginal birth, you can go home w/i 6-8 hours.  that's what i chose.  as the midwife comes to your house to visit you for days afterwards, this seemed like an ideal solution to us second time round.  

went home to my own bed, my own shower, my own food and only one crying baby.  

In many of the adult medical wards at the older hospitals they are still using the nightingale wards but some hospitals have moved away from this.  They are supposed to convert them all to 6 bedded bays but don't have the £££ to do it.

I hated being in a ward after giving birth. it was just so loud and I didn't get any sleep. We also had to walk a really long way to get to the one shared bathroom and my husband couldnt be with me for ages. Wasn't a happy camper. My brother in law was in the hospital with septicemia (sp?) a year or two back, he's got spina bifida, and I was pretty surprised to find him in a big room with at least 15 other patients!! I suppose it didn't help that it was really hot outside (and therefore inside) with no air conditioning. I'm not a big fan of the NHS on the best of days though, usually why I don't reply to any topics about healthcare, but I did find wards one of the biggest shocks and differences to what I had grown up with.

I just felt SO sorry for these older people who have just had open heart surgery being just out there in the open like they are.

It also aweful when they are confused, as many elderly people are and they are screaming out obsenities because they don't know where they are, and they are stripping themselves naked right in front of the visitors and other patients.   Dignity huh? 

It also aweful when they are confused, as many elderly people are and they are screaming out obsenities because they don't know where they are, and they are stripping themselves naked right in front of the visitors and other patients.   Dignity huh? 

I expect this problem to get worse before it gets better as a greater percentage of the population ages and lives longer.