I hate hospitals. And nursing homes. And cemeteries.

But what I hate even more are hospital workers who are indifferent and dumb…

I sat in the hospital room today, holding my grandfathers hand while he tried to rest. Beside me was a grumpy older gentleman, who needed much care. Every five minutes someone new was in or out of the room (so much for my gpa getting rest) and at one point someone left the man in a chair by himself. His wife came in about two minutes later and asked him who left him in the chair…bad bad bad…almost immediately (as shocking as this seems) a nurse came into the room asking the same question? Who? Who left the man in the chair? So they called an orderly, an overworked orderly, to come in to help move the elderly frail gentleman back into his bed. At this time, the orderly and the nurse began a discussion…assuming that BOTH patients in the room, though frail and ill ARE PEOPLE WITH EARS AND FEELINGS…the orderly went on and on about how he is overworked, and it is not his job to move people like this…and he is sick of being treated like he has to do all the work…the management in this hospital doesn’t care about the patients…etc…etc…completely going off bitching WHILE MOVING THE PATIENT. Um? Hello? Professional much? Don’t you have time to bitch to the nurses when you are sitting at the station around the corner sipping on your diet coke? ARUGH. The patient actually chimed in and said “I agree.” Another shock, the patient can hear! And respond!

Later on I heard the man tell his wife and a different nurse something about how he wanted soup…the nurse thought he said soup…he really said SUE.

All it takes is the TEENIEST bit of common sense…we all bitch about our jobs, but not in front of the people you are trying to help…patients lying in bed dying have enough on their minds…do they need to hear about how no one cares? They already know when the IV is left dripping a puddle on the floor for an hour…or the call light has been going off for 22 minutes without anyone answering, or while they are left on a bedpan for an hour because all the nurses are overworked.

UGH. It is hard enough for me to be in the hospital…but when I see shit like this…I am just out of my mind with rage…and sadness.