We have been piloting a new procedure on the use of mobile phones at The Wells Road Centre for 3 months to evaluate it's success. In secure hospitals we have to manage patient access to technology which can use the internet and other issues which can arise. Patients have been able to use mobile phones either on community leave or under time limited supervision in the hospital.
We have decided to give the patients the option of recieving a basic mobile phone which they can use within the hospital throughout the day. We have asked patients from each ward for their opinions on this new procedure to help us review it's success. The questions and responses for Seacole ward are as follows:
1. How has the option of having a mobile phone available on the ward benefitted you?
• "Very good"
• "Alright, yes"
• "I can talk to my kids when I want to"
• ‘I have a friend who is quite unwell, paranoid, sometimes when you call off a landline phone she doesn’t answer or even realise you’ve called. Because I can now text her she can read these texts when she is more well and know I’ve tried to get in touch and she can ring me back or text back and its better. More efficient. ’
• ‘It’s a piece of s**t phone but it’ll do for a quick text’
2. Do you have any suggestions on how we could improve our policy on mobile phones?
• ‘People shouldn’t take mobiles off the ward. I see the boys have theirs all the time, in coffee bar, or walking round the courtyard, it’s wrong and it shouldn’t happen’.
• ‘I think taking it on leave is good, then if you struggle, you can ring the ward’
• ‘We should be allowed the phones all the time’
• ‘No we should be allowed them longer but not that long, not 24/7, maybe up to about 10ish’
• ‘I want my smart phone’
3. Any other comments?
• ‘When a patient doesn’t have access to their room like I haven’t not had I don’t get to use my phone, can we have something in place for people who don’t get to use their phone. But then I don’t know if that’s more ward policy than mobile phone policy’.
"Seacole Ward: patient opinions of the new mobile phone procedure"
About: Forensic mental health / Low secure services Forensic mental health Low secure services NG3 6AA
Posted by Grekw7 (as ),
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