Some hospitals offer library facilities, and these are usually run by a volunteer who makes a round with a library cart each day. The volunteer department also has a cart that sells magazines, toilet articles, such as toothpaste or shampoo, and other small items.
Entertainment. Television is not included automatically in the facilities provided by the hospital and must be paid for separately, although the rates are reasonable. Most hospitals provide a radio which can be listened to with headphones in order not to disturb other patients. The radio has only a limited selection of stations.
The daily newspapers are provided by regular employees, who make daily rounds, a newspaper vending machine in the lobby, or a hospital gift shop. It is therefore a good idea to keep a small amount of money with you to buy a newspaper or magazine. You can also ask a friend to bring in reading literature if the hospital does not have a library.
Visiting Hours. There may be a limit on the number of visitors allowed in a room at any one time, which may not always be strictly enforced, unless, as occasionally happens, the system is abused and patients in nearby beds are disturbed or distressed by a crowd of noisy visitors. Relatives can always ask the head nurse on the unit if they are worried about the number of visitors allowed. Visitors should also remember that the patient is a captive audience, and a few short visits are less tiring and break the day up better than one visit that lasts an hour. If you find that you are getting unduly tired by visitors or that there are people you do not want to see, you can let your physician know. There are many ways of protecting a patient from unwanted visitors without causing personal embarrassment.
Visiting time is a good opportunity for you to take a short walk, with assistance if necessary, provided your physician has given consent. Visiting time also provides an opportunity for the family to participate in the care of the patient, encouraging the patient to drink plenty of fluids or helping the patient to brush his or her hair. Such activity is very supportive for the patient.
The Night Time. Many patients find sleeping difficult at night for various reasons. The lights on the unit are turned out early, at about 9:30 in the evening, and you may have slept during the day. There are constant disturbances on the unit because patients need medication throughout the night. You may be sharing a room with a very sick patient who needs constant nursing, or you may feel feverish and unwell yourself. However, there are several non-habit-forming drugs available to overcome sleeping problems, and these are often offered to you to be used as required.
If you are kept awake by disturbances in the unit, you must accept that other patients have needs that must be fulfilled. If the disturbance is made by the night staff and you think that the noise is unnecessary, you should talk the matter over with the hospital representative. If the noise is unavoidable (for instance, moving an emergency admission into the ward after an operation), this can be explained to you. If not, the hospital representative can take up the legitimate complaint. Patients are sometimes afraid to make a complaint about hospital employees, because their temporary dependency makes them fear a reprisal. Complaints are always handled confidentially. There are a variety of ways in which the validity of a complaint can be verified without involving the patient who made the allegation.
While the patients sleep, the night staff is working. One of their duties is to make regular rounds of all the rooms to verify that the patients are in fact asleep, that the breathing is regular, and the pulse is steady. The night rounds are important, because falls can occur during the night when a patient leaves his or her bed in order to visit the bathroom, possibly imagining himself or herself at home. You should not usually be aware of night rounds.
Hospitalization - Admission Procedures
The procedures you follow on admission to a hospital vary from one hospital to another, but basically the process is the same in most institutions in the United States.
Care of the Dying - Reaction of Children
A child's reaction to death depends on many factors. A child's first experience with death is often the death of a pet. A child under the age of eight cannot understand that death is irreversible and may expect the mother or father to bring the pet back to life. After the age of eight or nine, the child's understanding is usually as rational as an adult's understanding.
Care of the Dying - Moment of Death
Do not be alarmed if the patient's breathing makes a groaning or croaking sound. It does not mean that he or she is in pain. When a dying patient slips into a coma, the position of the neck and body produces the noise, which can be reduced by gently turning the patient's shoulders or body.
