wondering if your clinic allow a child and companion inside the treatment area

[nick]

hi there any of your clinic allowing companion and children inside the treatment area? coz i notice here in Philippines i been in 4 center  already 3 of them allowing 3 to 4 person even children in treatment area. and now my center now they dont allow only 1 companion allowed but her will wait on waiting area unless they are called

[RichardMEL]

Yes, my unit is pretty casual about visitors and understanding. I think because I am in a hospital unit and we often get patients in with acute renal failure, or post transplant, or just people having trouble it's more usual for visitors/partners/family to come and visit and they are cool. Usually kids have been well behaved. I can't remember anyone being asked to leave or anyrhing like that.

I do remember one time a Greek family came in - quite large - and we have a fair number of Greek patients on my shift. They went from the person they were seeing around to all the other Greeks and had a full conversation with each, brought them snacks and stuff. A real indication of how close knit that particular ethic community is. It was quite cool really (but a bit noisy for awhile!!)

The nurses in my unit are very supportive of visitors. I think they understand how stressful and boring dialysis can be and the comfort of a loved one and/or family can really help at times.

[billybags]

Yes Nick our unit allows partners,wifes exct.There are some there that help out,getting drinks,food from cafe and are an assert to the unit. Some of the old people find it comforting to have their partner with them. I think its a good thing but I wouldn't like children running around.

[lizabee]

My unit allows my husband and daughter (age 12) to sit with me during my treatments.

[willowtreewren]

When my husband was doing in-center treatments even I could not sit with him.

 

Aleta

[MIbarra]

My center allowed visitors and I believe there were a few kids that were let in, but the kids didn't stay long.

[Stacy Without An E]

I've always found in-center guests to be nothing but trouble.

This woman went out and bought fast food for her husband (yeah, that will help his stay off Dialysis) and she was bending over to place the items on his tray table.  Because her ass was so gigantic, it bumped my table and dropped my portable DVD player.  This wonderful humanitarian though it was funny.

Children are especially a no-no.  I had one little Satan spawn who came over and started punching the buttons and switches on my machine.  That woke me up and I became extremely angry.  That family has been banned from the clinic for obvious reasons.

This middle aged father had his twenty something bring him to treatment.  Once everything was setup he quickly became bored and started to play in the empty chair next to Dad.  Up and down, up and down, up and down.  I don't know about you, but if some double digit IQ dolt comes in and mocks me by playing with the chair, they're out too.

So as far as guests go, they should be able to help people get to the clinic and to the chair, but after that, they should be asked to leave.

[kristina]

I think it always depends how visitors behave.
Because of my very traumatic experiences with NHS-doctors and medical staff,
I don't think I would be able to face any dialysis centre on my own.

[RichardMEL]

Stacy seems to get the worst of the worst... man do you live in the bad part of town or something???

I think it definitely comes to how people act.

There's one guy in our unit, he's older and quite frail but has this amazing spirit (he's been doing D for 19 years!). Anyway his wife comes and sits with him every time for every session. She's quiet. She even helps out the other patients (bonus: she speaks Greek and English, so she translates for some of the others!). I look at her and just think of the devotion and it is amazing to see. I could dream to find someone like that, or let's be honest be like that myself.

We don't often get kids to visit (I think it is pretty confronting for some) but when they do they are usually well behaved - or at least looked after by whoever has brought them. Plus the staff would ask them to leave if they were too noisy or disruptive.

Hey they once let me bring my cat in (after finishing D!!! it was Christmas) so maybe our unit isn't a good example!!! 

[nursewratchet]

Children NEVER!!!!!  Adult visitors can if it is not turnover.  No one during put on and take off, unless they actually assist with needles in some way.  Too much risk. Too much distraction.  The tech needs to pay attention ONLY to the patient at that time.

[Wallyz]

No one under 14 allowed in the treatment areas.  They bent it when my kids came to pick me up when I was on late nights, because there were very few people on the floor and my kids showed themselves to be well behaved.

[RichardMEL]

True. Our unit ask visitors/family members to leave when someone is being put on or taken off, though they do bend that for some long term patients, like an old guy whoose wife sits with him through every treatment. She knows when to get out of the way or when to assist. They are pretty good I think.

[tyefly]

I was so worried about my unit when I started.....   I wasnt sure what I could do or if anyone could be there with me....  But   we can have someone with us for the enitire run   and we can eat , drink, and talk on the phone...watch tv.... and plus   we can go to the bathroom if we really need to.....  OMG    I am glad for that at times...... Now if I cold just walk around during D... I would have it made......   I need a extension line.....   a long one.....

[Hanify]

I was allowed visitors - even Molly who was 11 at the time.  But my visitors never stayed very long.  Paul was always there beginning and end and especially if the doc was coming.  There's no way I could remember anything that was said to me ha ha.

[Chris]

When I was going, there were no visitors. Just bring them back if they were in a wheelchair and off they went. In the hospital though, if you were having dialysis in your room, they just have to leave when being put on or taken off, but if taken to the dialysis floor, no visitors.

But if kids are noisey or visitors being like Stacey's, I wouldn't want visitors allowed, especially if trying to rest and relax.

[Bub]

My center is fairly lenient about visitors.  During my dialysis time we did have a two year old that would wander in unattended and the charge nurse did put a stop to that.  I have a friend who has occasionally dropped by for a short visit.

[YLGuy]

It is okay at my center.  There are 2 different patients that have a visitor often.  One is his wife and the other patient has his girlfriend.  One time my ex dropped off my 16 & 11 year old off at my center while she grocery shopped. They were both allowed to sit with me.

[del]

In the unit hubby was at he was allowed visitors. I often stayed with him for the whole treatment.  There was one woman who was banned from the unit for sticking her nose into other people's business.  They did have a rule that you had to leave when people were being put on and taken off but the staff were very lenient with those rules. If you were just sitting next to someone they usually didn't bother you.  I usually waited until all were hooked up and left when they started taking people off. If Hubby wanted me one of the nurses would come to the waiting room and get me.  There were lots of times though when I would take a morning and have some me time - go to the mall , etc but I always had my cell phone with me just in case.

[fc2821]

In my old unit, in Illinois, we could have visitors who could only stay a short time, no specfic time was mentioned. This was stopped when a woman started accompaning her husband, who was the patient, and "camping out" next to his chair. She brought a blanket and sat in the empty chair next to his. She was evicted by the staff. After that, no one but patients allowed in the room. It was a small center, only 13 chairs.

At my current center, no one but staff and patients allowed in the treatment area.

[Ang]

at  the  royal  melbourne  hospital  they  allow  all  and  sundry  in,even  hooking  up/off,  the  satellitte  centers  only  allow  you  in  when  all  patients  are  on

[RichardMEL]

at my unit they usually allow people in but ask them to leave when patients are being put on or taken off (absolute must if it's a permacath). If it's a long term patient(we have a few) where a spouse comes in they let them stay (there's one woman who sits with her husband and helps with everything and has done so for 20 years.....

In general they allow as many as you want(within reason) to come and visit. I think in a hospital unit this is actually more important than it seems. For example we had a new patient in, 19 years old, with acute failure (though they think it could be chronic). The poor girl was in a bit of shock in terms of what was happening to her, what it all meant, the stress of emergency dialysis and all that... and I think it was actually very calming for her to have family visiting. She had folks with her for pretty much her entire 4 hour run that I saw. Sure, it got a bit noisy at times - but I just turned the volume on my headphones up a bit - but I think it was really beneficial for her with what she is dealing with.

I think NOT allowing visitors in to see you, unless there is a medical reason, would be quite cruel. Dialysis can be quite lonely for some and a lot to deal with.. sometimes having a loved one there, even for distraction, can do a world of good.

As for me I asked my family not to visit me anymore at D. Not because I don't want anyone to visit me (the cute medical students can visit as many times as they like !  ) but because it tires me out when on the machine expected to make conversation for x hours - and I didn't want to be rude. So I come in, set up my laptop and do my thing and don't worry about visits. If I want to talk to someone there's always a nurse willing to spend a few minutes chatting so that's good.

I would hate though to be in a unit that did not allow anyone else in.

[mikey07840]

My unit allows one visitor per patient, for a short visit. The reason: there is no room for visitors; the building is very small, there is no place for the visitor to sit except in the aisle.

[twirl]

Hello Mikey 


we are not allowed anyone in at all --- we have a big room and plenty of room --
the director is power happy -- we used to be able to have people in --
 
no eating
no vistors
no movies that are not pg or g allowed ( to show everyone )
rules are changing and the patients are not happy

[RichardMEL]

no movies that are not pg or g allowed ( to show everyone )
rules are changing and the patients are not happy

Does this apply to watching your own personal DVD player or laptop? If so that would be ridiculous!

Now I am careful what I watch on my laptop just in case (so "Californication" is out!!) because if an older patient happens to see some nudity and get offended or something that wouldn't be good - but that's just me. I mean I tend to think people should mind their own business and NOT be looking at what someone else is watching on their own gear anyway.. I just do it to be considerate. Of course sometimes I am watching stuff that has scenes I'm not expecting, but I don't sit there watching porn or anything like that. Sometimes when I'm watching Iron Chef the staff get hungry and come watch! 

Sometimes this PC society/nanny state culture is befuddling to me.

[YLGuy]

Well, we have a new director.  They passed out a list of rules yesterday that included visitors are limited to 5 minutes.  I saw the husband of the woman who has my chair before me in the lobby and he told me that they had booted him out.  I did notice that the 2 people that sit across from me that have a limited grasp of the English language were allowed to have their family member stay with them the whole time.  At the end of my dialysis I stopped in the office and told them that I felt that at times I feel that I am unable to sufficiently convey my wants and needs to the staff effectively and at times would need the assistance of my children to translate for me. My kids don't stop by very often but when they do it makes my sit so much nicer.