Today's adventure

[Gillette]

Situation report:

At lunchtime today I cheekily snuck into the men's bay of the ward I am in at Wythenshawe Hospital. I was on a secret mission i.e. when staff asked me why I was there I feigned innocence.

Ah! Success!

I trundled over to the bed in the the far left corner where I had spotted my prey... and then I pounced! (OK, not exactly pounced as I can't get out of my wheelchair.)

"Hello," I said, "I'm Dina, from the MND Forum". I am hugely gratified to be able to report that my victim's face broke into a smile and I was given an enthusiastic "thumbs up".

So, who was my mystery man?

Why, it was Douglas, of course, otherwise known as Dis1960 here on the forum! I had known for a while that he was a patient on the ward but resisted the temptation to ask staff how he was faring - patient confidentiality, and all that.

He seemed in fairly good spirits and was happy for me to tell members on here that I had seen him. I was only with him briefly but I am pleased that I met him and introduced myself. I hope to break into the bay again soon.

Report ends.

[Sheila]

That was lovely for you two to meet. You must do it again soon and go on another secret mission. Breaks the day up for you. Ha ha.
Love to you and Douglas.
Sheila.

[Terry]

Like it, Dina,

Maybe you both cause some lighthearted mischief there, especially if you communicate with each other before hand.

Does Douglas have a wheelchair there?

Love Terry

[ccinjersey]

Loved your telling of the story Dina, it made me laugh

What is a 'bay' in your hospital Unit ? Is that where they hold the men? Are men and women separated on your Units ?? Just wondering...

Nice you got to meet another forum member. I been trying to meet Terry for seven years but he keeps giving me excuses, but I think he secretly thinks I might bounce on him like prey too

Have fun ! I hope you get to break into the bay often

CCxox

[Barry52]

Great story Dina but next time you meet Doug I hope it’s not in hospital.

Barry x

[mickmac]

Well done Dina. It would be great to get a visit in hospital from someone who is in a similar situation to you. A great boost for you both I'd imagine. Hope you are both home soon.

Mick.

[Dis1960]

You were lucky that musical beds had finished for the day

In the last week I’ve been in bed 14 .11 and now bed 13

Congratulations on tracking your prey

[Ellie]

Hi Dina and Douglas,

Great that you met each each other and Dina, but going by Douglas' bed hopping antics, you did well not to endear yourself to a complete stranger

On a separate note Dina; you said the wheelchair you're using is pretty uncomfortable - if they cannot provide a better option, I hope you're not in it for long at any one time, as the last thing you need is to get sores

Love Ellie.

[Lynne K]

Hi Dina and Douglas, great that you could meet. Dina I Ioved your story.

CC, wards are called bays here since modern buildings and others transformed into more open spaces. The staff are situated centrally, often with bays around or left and right of them. Some bays have doors, others do not, but have screens that can slide to make bigger wards etc

In the past mens and womens wards were totally separate. At the beginning of the NHS wards were long with beds either side, staff at the top near to the doots, sometimes in separate rooms. There was various numbers of beds but 60 or so wouldn't be unusual. Gradually over the years wards got smaller, less and less patients but still the genders separated, womens and mens wards. There's still a Womens Hospital in Liverpool. I had 2 of my 4 kids there.

Nowadays bed spaces are combined in one or another way. Wythenshawe obviously keep men and women patients separate. These will be rooms/bays nearby each other. Each bay has about 8 beds.

I was horrified recently to be placed in a bigger bay about 12 beds, but with both men and women in. I couldn't relax for my whole time there. I don't know what the powers that be are thinking of with this option. Any big changes like these are usually money saving strategies. Nurses are overworked and being central means that they can more easily keep an eye on things all around.
Lynne

[Gillette]

You were lucky that musical beds had finished for the day

In the last week I’ve been in bed 14 .11 and now bed 13

Congratulations on tracking your prey

Ha ha ha,

It's a good job you didn't land in bed 13 when I was in it! Wouldn't that have caused a scandal? Hee hee hee.

[Gillette]

You were lucky that musical beds had finished for the day

In the last week I’ve been in bed 14 .11 and now bed 13

Congratulations on tracking your prey

Ha ha ha,

It's a good job you didn't land in bed 13 when I was in it! Wouldn't that have caused a scandal? Hee hee hee.

Terry, I'm afraid I don't know if Douglas has a wheelchair in here. If he does, staff will probably confiscate it as they'll be afraid he'll be corrupted by me and joi

[Terry]

Hi Dina,

I am mischief and always try to cause trouble in a delightful way.

It would be great if both of you could get about and sit outside or in the coffee shop.

Anything to break up the day and promote interest.

Love Terry

[ccinjersey]

Thank you for taking the time to explain it Lynne.

We don't have bays or wards, ours our called Units, for example ICU (Intensive Care Unit) Wards is more an old school term we don't really say here anymore. Our Units have private and semi-private rooms with only one or two beds to a room. Men and women don't share the same room (unless husband and wife) but men and woman are all on the same Unit together.

The hospital I work for prefers we call the patients 'guests', which I personally find amusing, its not like these patients are checking in at the Hilton, although some 'guests' think they are lol

CCxx

[Gillette]

Hi CC,

What Lynne has explained is largely true. However, I am in a specialist ventilation unit which is effectively a High Dependency Unit. It has staffing for 12 patients, but beds for 16 - this gives the staff flexibility to accommodate varying numbers of male and female patients. There are three bays with four beds each, housing either male or female patients (it varies according to numbers of each). There are also two single rooms and one room with two beds.

The unit has a good staffatient ratio and also has its own specialist staff such as physiotherapists, dietician, speech and language therapist, pharmacist, occupational therapist plus consultants and junior doctors.

[Gillette]

On a separate note Dina; you said the wheelchair you're using is pretty uncomfortable - if they cannot provide a better option, I hope you're not in it for long at any one time, as the last thing you need is to get sores

Hi Ellie,

I was part-way through getting my wheelchair sorted when I ended up in here. I certainly limit the time I spend in my chair for that reason, as well as because of the discomfort.