"Visiting policy"

My adult daughter was taken into Surgical Receiving ward 4 at Hairmyers Hospital with acute Pancreatitis. The nurses and doctors were great at taking care of her throughout her stay BUT what has happened to the Vistors Policy in busy hospital wards? 

She was in a four bedded bay and visiting was reported as 10 - 12, 2 - 4 and 6 - 8. This was a schedule that was easy enough to work around. 

There was a patient admitted through the night into the bed next to her. They were for surgery the next day and understandably anxious so their partner stayed throughout the first night talking to them. No sleep for the other 3 patients that night, but everyone understands sometimes these things happen.

The next day, 4 other visitors appear early in the day, 2 children and a patients parents. This amount of visitors around one patient is a big ask given I’m pretty sure there is a 2 to a bed rule set out by infection control.

I say with my daughter who was in a lot of pain, while she put my scarf around her eyes to attempt to sleep despite what was by now nothing short of an amusement arcade going on right beside her. 2 children playing 2 different games on their electronic gadgets at full volume. Chairs from that bay pushed right into our small space with the curtain draped over them. Visitors persistently using the patients toilet despite being told not to.

Just before I left at the end of visiting at 4pm, the other patient was taken to theatre. The family were informed they could stay at the bedside out with visiting and wait the numerous hours until they returned from the theatre. Why was this ever allowed. 3 pretty sick patients comfort and rest completely destroyed by 2 children with no clue of manners or rules or boundaries. This was the most extreme betrayal of visitors policies I have ever come across!

This ward was super busy with pretty sick patients. Come on nursing staff tighten your ward policy on visiting do’s and don’t s. This situation added a crazy amount of stress to not just my daughters but the other poor patients unlucky enough be stuck and miserable in that ward. Other than being reminded not to keep using and playing in the patients toilet they were never asked to leave or keep the noise down.