St Albans City Hospital 2019-07-18 Person 4 5 0

I was lucky to ask and get a private side room .it made my recovery easier after a total knee replacement as it was quiet and I could sleep . The first night was very painful . On the last day of my discharge I was in a ward . My only criticisms ,is of the general visiting hours which are hardly restricted ,except at meal times are not conducive to inpatient recovery at all ! The numbers of visitors allowed are far to many, unrestricted and for to long . This means if you are in a 8 person ward ,with just cubicle curtains around ,you can be in with not just 8 patients but all their spouses ,some who stayed all day , and young noisy children . One patient had 4/5 people with kids , others only one but it was hour after hour . No peace and quiet , plus the staff opposite at the nurses station ,phones , banter , banging, loud talking , it was like Piccadilly Circus . Some times 15 or more people with staff in a small area at once all competing for air time and space . Please reduce the visiting hours to a couple only per session , at set times with limited people per patient . It’s really awful if you are in pain or trying to sleep to recover . The visitors don’t try to be quiet ? They feel they are there to entertain and cheer up so It’s really loud and you have to hear such rubbish being talked just for the sake of it ? Patients are subjected to other people’s private conversations constantly . It’s awful . I had half a day of it and it drove me crazy . Probably easier on staff if you cut the intrusion of visitors back please . Patients who are ill don’t need lots of visitors ,it’s tiring after a general and big op . Thank you .