'Now the whole hospital can be their waiting room' - Pagers give Shropshire pre-op patients freedom
Hospital patients are being given more freedom ahead of surgery, thanks to a new pager system which lets them know when their operation will take place.
Usually pagers are used by clinical staff at Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital in on-call situations or in reporting to certain wards and departments at the hospital at Gobowen.
But its Baschurch Day Unit has turned that on its head – so patients do not have to hang around in a waiting room until they are called.
The hospital's League of Friends, which actively raises funds for the trust, bought the equipment and the Baschurch Day Unit nursing team came up with the idea.
Manager Rachael Flood said: "It's a great way to allow patients waiting for surgery a bit of freedom.
"Like in many hospitals, the phone signal is a little patchy and some patients don't have mobile phones, so we couldn't let them go very far."
The range of a device covers the whole hospital site as far as the car park limits.
When a patient needs to be recalled back to the unit, the device flashes and vibrates for two minutes.
She added: "A big advantage is that we can sign them out for relatives. They can go and get a coffee and not be confined to the waiting area when a patient is in surgery or having treatment.
"Patients are enjoying having the option of going to other parts of the hospital to wait.
"It's making them feel more comfortable to be here during what can be a stressful time for them and their relatives."
Victoria Sugden, League of Friends manager, said: "Baschurch Unit has patients coming in early in the morning and having to wait in the waiting room until called for their operation.
"Now the whole hospital can be their waiting room."
