'Ban nurses' personal phones from the wards' so the sick and injured are not neglected, says Banbury patient

Sharne Carr, who spent eight days in the Horton, Banbury and JR, Oxford hospitals before Christmas, is one of two patients who wrote to the Banbury Guardian complaining of inadequate attention by nurses who ‘played on phones’.

Ms Carr, who complained to the Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUH) about her care during hospitalisation for a badly broken elbow, said that patient care was neglected while nurses sat at ward stations on their mobile phones.

In a story in the Banbury Guardian she described suffering a ‘horror movie’ ordeal of inadequate nursing care.

Ms Carr, who previously worked in the NHS as a midwifery assistant and in biomedical science, said use of personal mobile phones at the Horton was ‘unprofessional’.

She reported that patients pressing buzzers to get nursing help were ignored.

"The call buzzer issues continued at night and I have videos of staff sitting in chairs near the nurse's station playing on their phones, ignoring me pacing the hallways in pain. This was mainly by night staff where they would sit at the nurse's station playing on their phones rather than tend to patients or their paperwork,” she said.

"Unfortunately, night staff are able to be as unprofessional as they like due to the lack of senior staff on night shifts. This means there is rarely (if ever) supervision of the staff."

Another former NHS nursing sister, in a detailed complaint to the OUH described how three nurses in the Horton General Hospital A&E department retreated into a resuscitation unit to check their phones and send messages, during a night she spent mostly sitting on a chair waiting for blood tests for a serious allergy.

“Whilst seated in a corridor, I saw three nurses retreat into resus to check their private phones and to send messages. But they didn’t think it appropriate to check on their patients, their phones taking higher priority,” she said.

Sam Foster, Chief Nursing Officer at OUH, said: “In terms of our staff using their mobile phones, we would not endorse the use of mobile phones for personal use when providing patient care – however many staff across the NHS now do use their phones to review clinical guidance, much of which is now available on phone apps, or use the stopwatch feature to carry out observations whilst in the clinical area.”

Ms Carr said: "From experience of working in the NHS, any apps that have been developed for professional use are available on the staff tablets and computers. There should be no need to use a mobile phone on shift. I personally was once reminded not to use my phone on shift when I took it out of my pocket to check the time.”

• With regard to Ms Carr’s complaint, the OUH said: “Due to the amount of information provided by Ms Carr in her complaint, it has taken some time to investigate her claims and ensure that they are investigated as fully as possible. We have also taken some time to liaise with other people she has included in her complaints. We can confirm that the full response has been posted to her today (Monday).”