10 Things I've learned about Hospitals!

1. Polo shirts (collared T-shirts) are the new “uniform” standard for wardsmen, and even nurses.  So if you are visiting your Dad in hospital and wear a polo shirt with a “logo” on one side, the registrars will wonder why you are sitting on a patient’s bed with your feet up and interrupting his conversation with a nurse. 
2. Patients welcome news, any news, when they are stuck in bed for days on end.
3. Nurses know what they are doing and they deserve an enormous serving of respect.
4. It pays to have extra of everything… straws, plastic cups, bottled water, tissues and wet wipes.
5. It pays to learn the names of every doctor, nurse and auxiliary staff member you meet. 
6. Saying please and thank you and being patient will get you further than a cross word.
7. You will always have to wait!  So be prepared… puzzle books, novels, magazines and letter writing helps to keep your mind active.
8. Hospital can be a scary place.  I do my best to smile as much as I can when I am there.
9. Great stories are told in hospitals.
10. Whether you are the one in the bed or you’re visiting, you will inevitably spend some time in hospital at one time or another, so relax and let it happen.  It really is the best way to handle it.  

That’s that then.