What's the second worst thing about hospitals? The pumps. They work the drips. Except that they don't. Almost everyone admitted to hospital gets put on a saline drip to hydrate them. Excellent, they make a huge difference.
The pumps though, don't. They are not necessary at all. Every little movement of an old man in his bed stops them and an alarm sounds. It"s an urgent beep. Since the alarms are so sensitive there is a pump on every ward going off every five minutes. Right through the night.
"Some people get so furious they wreck them," said one nurse to us. " They just tear them apart, it drives them insane. We don't even need them. Time was when a nurse would just look down the ward and see who needed a bag changing. We didn't need an alarm for that. Gravity works the drip, so a pump isn't necessary, but health and safety said we must have them, so here they are"
We were there one day. Got through three pumps, because they break down by themselves. No help required. My washing machine beeps when it's done. It's insistent, so can't be ignored. Imagine that when you are sick, or even dying, and the noise goes on and on. Torture. Expensive too, since they need fixing so often.
Someone needs to do something. It would save the NHS millions if they scrapped the lot. It would also mean nurses having to look down the ward just a bit more. That would get rid of the worst thing about hospitals. No one would have to ask, ask and ask again for help with the toilet.
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