[Vivienne]

I was wondering if any of you have had bizarre or particularly unpleasant hospital experiences?

My aunt has been in hospital for just under 2 weeks, and only just got out yesterday. Anyhow, I was hearing that at the weekend, whilst she was lying sleeping in her hospital bed, she suddenly woke up to find cold hands grasping at the bottom of her legs. This, unfortunately, gave her such a fright, that she began screaming the place down, causing nurses to appear from all directions!! I understand that the woman who had hold of her legs wasn't "quite all there" (so to speak)!

Has anything drastic happened to you?

[ladbroke]

In 1998 my then girlfriend broke her arm whilst we were in Greece. We went to the hospital and imagine our surprise when we noticed that you could smoke in the hospital. There were ash trays in the waiting room!! In my eyes all that was needed was a bar and it would've been a Carlsberg hospital for sure!

My mum often tells a story about when my sister was born. The new mums on the maternity ward could smoke, and only had to put the ashtrays away when the babies were brought out! The babies were all in a seperate room to the mothers, and came out for visiting times only. Crazy!

[Andy B]

My auntie once went to hospital because she had a bit of a cough and the doctor couldn't find out what was wrong with her so he sent her to hospital for some tests. She never came out. Died 6 weeks later of chronic lung cancer. It was quite bizare to go round to see my uncle and see the row of cards starting with "Get well soon" and ending in "with deepest sympathy".

I don't trust such places...getting a bunch of sick people together in one building...s'not natural or healthy. The Germans made that mistake in "The Great Escape" except with prisoners but the theory is sound.

[Nicola_Red]

I've been in hospital many times - spent my whole life in and out of there really - but I couldn't say I've had any particularly bizarre experiences. I did lose a ton of blood during one operation and nobody realised until three days later when, having thrown up everything i'd tried to consume and also fainted, my heart started going at 130. They duly hooked me up with 3 pints but it took me days to get well enough to leave, and I'm usually pretty quick to recover. They told me my white cell count was less than half of what it should have been. Crazy times.

[Bonanzoid]

I was wondering if any of you have had bizarre or particularly unpleasant hospital experiences?

My aunt has been in hospital for just under 2 weeks, and only just got out yesterday. Anyhow, I was hearing that at the weekend, whilst she was lying sleeping in her hospital bed, she suddenly woke up to find cold hands grasping at the bottom of her legs. This, unfortunately, gave her such a fright, that she began screaming the place down, causing nurses to appear from all directions!! I understand that the woman who had hold of her legs wasn't "quite all there" (so to speak)!

Has anything drastic happened to you?

Wow, that is kinda weird. I reckon I'd have kicked the person, but only out of reflex.

[catherine]

Nothing weird has happened to me really, bad experiences would be the reaction to morphine i had where i slept for 15 hours and couldn't even keep a sip of water down. Also when the nurse started having a bitch fit and wouldn't let me leave the ward.

[MK Chris]

The nature of hospitals means that they are unpleasant places, particularly if you have to stay in them.. but I'd much rather be under the care of the NHS than have to pay medical insurance. I haven't had to use it much - very little in fact - but when I have used it, I've not been able to fault it.

On a slightly related note, I was reading an article the other day about the Swinfen Charitable Trust, set up by a Lord and Lady Swinfen, which acts as a go-between for third world doctors and doctors in developed countries. Basically, the third world doctors are often too inexperienced and ill-qualified to deal with many of the problems they're faced with and (due to a PC installed by the Swinfens) are able to email them with a description of the problem. This email is then forwarded to some of the world's leading specialists, who will reply with advice and / or further questions. These people have taken just one week holiday since the charity has been running, which has been a good few years (I can't remember how long.) It dominates their lives, the two of them, and I just found it astonishing the good work they've done.

[Munki Bhoy]

Fortunately not. Any time I have been in a hospital the procedures have been bad enough without other people getting in on the act.

[DevilsDuck]

When I was about 6-7 I had Neumonia and had to go in and have a chest x-ray, they got me all ready and everyone left the room and hid behind the glass. Just as they where about to take the x-ray, the doors flew open and the pushed in some woman on a trolly covered in blood with doctors and nurses all round her also covered in blood and one doctor just shouted "GET OUT"

I crapped myself and just went running, it took hours to calm me down

that was weird

[Yudster]

I'll say. Neumonia sounds terrible. Not as bad as Pneumonia though.

[DevilsDuck]

Shit!

Neumonia

TIT!

[AndyJ]

Last week one of my girlfriends clients went into hospital to have a small operation done on her heart, should have only been in for a couple of days at the most. During the operation the surgen had his scalpul and slipped and cut a artery.
After a couple of hours her family got a call from the hospital saying they need to go there urgently. They had managed to keep her alive on a support machine until they got there. They switched off the machine off and that was that.

My girlfriend did ask if she knew what was going on? thinking that she wouldn't have a clue and it would be peaceful death but apperantly she had managed to write a note to her daughters and must have got a nurse to put it in her handbag, they found it after they switched the machine off and started to gather her bits and bobs.

They are starting an inquest into how this happened but I said to my girlfriend that there isn't really anything they will be able to do about it, when you have a operation you sign a disclaimer saying they will not be held responsible, and unfortunatly as sad as it is accidents do happen, as with any job! it just sucks that it cost a life!

[Munki Bhoy]

And there is why I could NEVER be a doctor. One little slip in my line of work and your computer might need to be rebuilt. If you don't have backups, that's your own bloody fault. One little slip as a doctor... well, you can't backup a life.

[Andy B]

I can and have. I have created several clones of me complete with full genetic memories which I periodically update. In the event of my untimely death the system controlling them releases them from their cryogenic stasis and they create another clone. Thus I intend to live forever as ruler of you all.

[MK Chris]

Frankly, I doubt your death would ever be classed as 'untimely'. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and all.

[Munki Bhoy]

Frankly, I doubt your death would ever be classed as 'untimely'. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and all.

Unless I die May 31st 2018, my death will be "untimely" according to Death Clock. What's more scary is that I now have less that 10 years to live according to that.

[MK Chris]

Considering you seem to have spent more time in the doctors and at the hospital than you have at your own home, one incident isn't too bad, eh?