EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management Mobile Phones

Have you seen this story on the BBC news web site? It says "technical experts said hospital-wide bans on mobile phones were not needed".
This contradicts another article from the site that says mobile phones do affect medical equipment.

So what is the correct thing to do? - and who obeys these bans anyway?

Robert

People carry on conversations on their phones whilst paying at the check-out (with plastic, of course), and when supposedly watching a performance at the theatre or cinema, apparently oblivious to the extreme annoyance caused to others.

They carry on loud "conversations" (often about their interesting [NOT] "private" lives) on buses and on the Tube.

Everyday I see (and try to avoid being walked into by) morons charging around the pavements (side-walks) looking as if they're lost and following a compass. Of course, they're really involved with the latest piece of sh*te to appear on the screens of their mobile phones (and most wouldn't even know what a compass is).

Idiots wander out into traffic with heads bobbing away in time to their iPods. Other (or perhaps the same) idiots send text messages while driving.

And we have all heard about exceedingly dumb people following their in-vehicle Sat-Navs to the ends of the earth (or worse).

All this stuff is here to stay. And it can only get worse as everything (breaking news, breaking wind, whatever) gets downloaded for immediate consumption. You can't legislate against idiocy, I'm afraid. Well, I suppose you can ... but it is, and would be, pointless.

But regarding your links. Well, look at the dates. Things have moved on, apparently:-

Rant over?

Couldn't you have sent that as a text message?

That's SMS, for the technically inclined.

I don't believe mobile phones affect medical equipment. Well, maybe the super sensitive stuff like an EEG or something. But I have connected ECG electrodes directly to my mobile in the past and guess what happened to the trace.....Nothing!!
I believe you should be allowed to use mobile phones in the public areas of a hospital but not on the wards etc, and you should always take other people into account when using them, I know I do. Why would I want to broadcast my conversation anyway?

My advice is that if you need to use your mobile from within the confines of a hospital building, always do what I do, first ask someone who appears to be in charge if it's OK to do so.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has to endure "what I did last night" and "what I'm going to do tonight" being, as you say, broadcast to anyone unfortunate enough to be within ear-shot. The trouble is that many people these days simply don't give a damn. As I say, it's a sign of the times.

Guess thats what they mean by a "dead cell"

Ed

Totally agree with your rant Geoff!

Being a member of the Old School I hate the damned things ( same goes for the Blackberry , dingleberry , strawberry or whatever it's called.) -- always at the beck and call of someone, somewhere.
Cyberdogs right though - yes use them in public areas if you really have too but on the wards? Oh No -- and who really considers other folk when you've got the latest, thinnest, smallest, multi screen , stereo function,designer phone in your hand?

I did once see a mobile put to good use by a surgeon - he was having great difficulty using an instrument set and rang the Area Rep for assistance -- that worked a treat, patient sorted sewn up and job done and no interference with the surrounding machinery.

I love it in Tesco when out comes the phone and you get.... "I'm standing by the frozen pea counter , now what size bag did we decide on ?" ------ FOR GODS SAKE, SHUT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahh thats better!!!

Kind regards
Terry H

Glad to hear it's not only me!

Must be a "generational thing".

Nice story about the surgeon (hope it wasn't a Morcellator, by the way). But I expect we can all recall occasions when a mobile phone has been put to good use by the service engineer, too.

Next topic:- dogs.

After that:- mobility scooters!