Today I thought I would do a slightly different type of post. It is something that has been on my mind of a while. so here goes……It is of course, just a little tongue-in-cheek, and purely my opinion!

Dear Hospital Visitor

We really appreciate the fact that you want to spend time with your loved one, and that is why we have made visiting hours so accessible for you; being between the hours of 2pm-8pm. We have even stated that if you wish to, you may come a little earlier in order to help your loved one to eat their lunch. We understand that in many cases, particularly with the elderly and frail patients, they will eat more when encouraged by someone who is close to them.

What we do ask, however, is that you remember that although the portions are quite large, the meals are just for the patient! We would like to try to build up their strength in order that they recover sooner and return to their normal lives, Eating well can help substantially with the healing process! You are welcome to bring in your own food, or even food for the patient if they desire something that we do not offer. Please try not to eat the patients’ meals as tasty as they may look. There is usually a canteen or shop available if you become peckish.

We enjoy our jobs as nurses/carers, and we pride ourselves in giving your relatives/friends the best care that we possibly can; treating them as if they are our own. So when you complain that your Mum/Nan has not had her hair brushed properly, or you berate us for not answering the buzzer  within a nanosecond, please remember this: We treat EVERYBODY as if they were our own as I said, so that means that we have at least another 5 patients that may need our attention as well. We may have just seen your relative two minutes ago , and although yes of course, we will plump her pillows for her again, there is someone else bursting for the loo.

By the way, it does help if you could bring a few essentials in with you, next time you visit. Soap, slippers, dressing gown and a brush or comb would be so handy. We do have hospital nighties and some slipper socks available, plus the volunteers occasionally give us soap, toothbrushes and combs, but they do not last long, and we prefer it if we can, to save those for the patients that have no-one that visits them (sadly there are a few of those).

Oh yes, when you enter the ward, we do have plenty of alcohol gel available for you to use, Every patient also has them at the end of their beds. As I am sure you are aware,one of the biggest transmitters of germs is our hands, It takes seconds to squirt a bit of gel into your hands; just by doing this small thing, you might save your loved one from catching a nasty bug and having to stay in hospital longer.

Last of all. please don’t turn up mob-handed! There is hardly any room as it is around a patient’s bedside, and if there are 8 relatives at a time surrounding the bed, it does make doing our job a little harder, especially for those patients that also have drips and other paraphernalia all over the place. It is an accident waiting to happen. To be on the safe side, keep the number to two visitors. That way nobody will trip over you, or trample you!

Thank you for your kind co-operation!