10 June 2013

Wifi for the Hospital

| johnboy
Join the conversation
25

Chief Minister Gallagher has announced a trial of free wifi in Canberra hospital:

A new trial of free public wifi at The Canberra Hospital has started which aims to make the stay of patients and their families a little bit easier, Chief Minister and Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher, said today.

The trial will include free public wifi in the Paediatrics, Ward 12B (Rehabilitation) initially before expanding to Oncology, Central Outpatients, Emergency Department, and Renal Services areas of The Canberra Hospital later this year.

“The Government is working hard to deliver a more comfortable hospital environment for not only patients but also their families and friends,” the Chief Minister said.

“I am hopeful that this trial will prove successful and provide patients and their visitors with another source of connection to their daily lives while in the care of our health care system.

And in case, like me, you were wondering:

“Internet access will be filtered for appropriateness, and access will be capped to avoid excessive cost to Government. Service levels are designed primarily for browsing the Internet and accessing e-mails.

Join the conversation

25
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

what about the supposed effect of computers and mobile devices on medical equipment?

I was thinking Joseph Stalin, but Mike Tyson is close enough, I suppose.

incredulousandridiculous2:01 pm 11 Jun 13

Erg0 said :

incredulousandridiculous said :

Yes, insulting someone who consistently doctored government records while being paid $100,000+ (or $200,000+?) by the taxpayer to keep them and (legitimately) improve the system is TOTALLY unfair of mean old me. I admit I am clearly in the category of Mike Tyson pushing his mother down the stairs or a gunman committing a massacre in the US with my violent verbal attack on someone so stressed she was forced to pathologically lie about something as trivial as hospital documents.

poetix said :

Studying for an honours degree in Charm, with a sub-major in Modesty

You forgot the second half of my double degree: latte-sipping at Gus’ and cocktail consumption at Tongue & Groove.

incredulousandridiculous said :

thoughtpod said :

Also, calling a woman a “bitch” probably means that you should think about how you relate to women. It’s a hostile, misogynistic term, and I’m sure that being the clever university student that you are, you understand why you should probably apologise for using it.

The data tamperer is a bitch, an overpaid ‘professional’ who adversely impacted on the local health system for her own career gain. If the shoe fits, it fits. And misogynistic? Bitch is a gender-specific insult, yes, but in the same vein dickhead, wanker and bastard are terms just as offensively directed at men.

If the tamperer had been male, he would have been ‘the data tampering bastard’. So no apology will be forthcoming. Both of you have an argument that falls flat in this regard.

LSWCHP said :

And you may be a uni student, but I suspect that you don’t know the difference between “elite” and “elitist”, so maybe some remedial English classes are in order.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/elitist

I made a sarcastic comment about uni students referring to the outside presumption that uni students nothing despite implying they know everything. That sort of denigration of uni students is why we are not taken seriously when we question the status quo, either from a left or rightwing perspective, If you don’t have the mental dexterity to recognise ‘elitist’ can be inserted before ‘university student’, not to mention the potential existence of sarcasm in text, I have to question your own knowledge of and expertise in the English language.

Studying for an honours degree in Charm, with a sub-major in Modesty.

incredulousandridiculous said :

I made a sarcastic comment about uni students referring to the outside presumption that uni students nothing despite implying they know everything. That sort of denigration of uni students is why we are not taken seriously when we question the status quo, either from a left or rightwing perspective

You’re certainly doing wonders for that perception, with your personal insults and strident black-or-white viewpoint.

incredulousandridiculous1:21 pm 11 Jun 13

thoughtpod said :

Also, calling a woman a “bitch” probably means that you should think about how you relate to women. It’s a hostile, misogynistic term, and I’m sure that being the clever university student that you are, you understand why you should probably apologise for using it.

The data tamperer is a bitch, an overpaid ‘professional’ who adversely impacted on the local health system for her own career gain. If the shoe fits, it fits. And misogynistic? Bitch is a gender-specific insult, yes, but in the same vein dickhead, wanker and bastard are terms just as offensively directed at men.

If the tamperer had been male, he would have been ‘the data tampering bastard’. So no apology will be forthcoming. Both of you have an argument that falls flat in this regard.

LSWCHP said :

And you may be a uni student, but I suspect that you don’t know the difference between “elite” and “elitist”, so maybe some remedial English classes are in order.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/elitist

I made a sarcastic comment about uni students referring to the outside presumption that uni students nothing despite implying they know everything. That sort of denigration of uni students is why we are not taken seriously when we question the status quo, either from a left or rightwing perspective, If you don’t have the mental dexterity to recognise ‘elitist’ can be inserted before ‘university student’, not to mention the potential existence of sarcasm in text, I have to question your own knowledge of and expertise in the English language.

GardeningGirl said :

Btw I had a tv at my hospital bed over twenty years ago.

What’s your point? Are you saying that money spent on pandering to people’s entertainment is ok if it’s spent on passive hardware like a TV, but providing a pro-active service that allows people to communicate with someone else, send and receive work, conduct general business, and source multifold more entertainment is a waste?

GardeningGirl11:26 am 11 Jun 13

Btw I had a tv at my hospital bed over twenty years ago.

You know the government can’t just go spending money on health because in someones opinion its not good. We in Canberra need to get a bit of a perspective in out lives, because the majority of us we have a really easy life, so much so we can complain about the merits of wifi in hospitals. The hospitals could use some improvement, but I bet a lot of people would love to have a hospital system like ours. Spending money on core health services though doesn’t necessarily improve the service, in fact like most budgets, when you have spare cash it gets wasted on luxury items or things that are not needed. I’m sure we could debate for ages over what is needed and what isn’t however so nothing would get resolved.

Seriously, why is it not a good idea other than the fact that those against have no idea about what the internet is useful other than sprouting the BS spread by the coalition, most likely based around the NBN media rubbish. Also the argument about why should they have free wifi, well most people try not to live in hospitals either so if it is comforting for some then I see no issue with it.

It’s easy to subscribe to a maximum monthly usage for the site. Port blocking can restrict access to desired applications. MAC addresses can be blocked or throttled when they cross a threshold.

The ability to communicate means people can still work while sick, keep on top of family commitments and plan a healthy recovery.

My last trip to ED was spent keeping my girlfriend distracted from her epic pain with episodes of Scrubs. Hospitals are the best place to watch Scrubs. 😛

Lots of good reasons on this forum showing it’s a good idea, by patients or their parents/spouses/relatives. So maybe we should just respect that some people would highly value it, and that it would make a positive difference in their life, and move on?

Spent 6 weeks in TCH last year in the Paeds ward looking after my daughter.

This would have been really useful back then and for many parents trying to juggle thier work and caring commitments while their kids are in-patients this will be nothing short of a god send.

Worth the cost.

there there, nothappyjan *pats you on the head*

Too much red cordial?

=)

GardeningGirl10:15 pm 10 Jun 13

Well said nothappyjan.
If they want to improve things that are peripheral to the actual medical treatment I have a relative who would really have appreciated better food and more toilets for patients in multi bed wards.

I used to work at the hospital. I was way too busy to even bother to blink let alone use it. You were referring to the internet, right? (Just checking.)

And, LSWCHP, he was being sarcastic and infuriating. Let’s just pat him on the head and say, there there and move right along.

=)

HiddenDragon9:32 pm 10 Jun 13

Very nice for the people for whom it is intended, but imagine the surprise when it is discovered (as surely it will be) that a frisky (but totally unidentifiable) ten year old, looking for something to do while visiting the Hospital, is somehow able to use the wifi to hack into the stats database and (inadvertently) make the official figures look so much better.

I’m sure the staff won’t be using it.

incredulousandridiculous said :

For the record, this is the same Chief Minister who went on holiday with the data tampering bitch who is yet face criminal charges. And the same Chief Minister who presides over a healthcare system consistently ranked in the bottom two States and Territories for many measures of waiting times and responses.

Try explaining this wifi plan to the thousands of aged pensioners whose health only declines further as they age, largely due to insufficient medical treatment. But what would I know, Katy, I’m just an elitist university student who can’t possibly fathom the priority that free Internet represents. Forget nurses being paid adequately or more hospital beds.

I’ve spent several tedious periods in ED and other places with a sick wife and injured kids, and I would’ve appreciated free wifi to help pass the time away while waiting for things to happen. This facility will provide patients with a reassuring degree of connectivity, which is something people expect these days and I think it’s a good thing.

And you may be a uni student, but I suspect that you don’t know the difference between “elite” and “elitist”, so maybe some remedial English classes are in order. Whether that’s the case or not, I agree with thoughtpod. Calling a woman a “bitch” on a public forum isn’t a good look.

I am perplexed. The Media Release is for today, Monday June 11, 2013. But today is Monday June 10, 2013. Perhaps I am missing something or perhaps my calendar is playing evil games on me.

Nonetheless, I took mum to Calvary in November 2012; she had a fall and fractured her collarbone. (The irony is, she just had handrails installed for the front and back steps to her house to prevent such an occurrence.)

While waiting in the emergency department, mum was in quite a bit of pain, she started pacing the corridors. I happened to have my iPad with me, so I sat her down to see if I could find something on it to keep her (at least somewhat) distracted from the pain while we waited.

I was surprised to see we could access the hospital’s wi-fi. And well, as many would attest, having to go to hospital does tend to make one apprehensive, worried, disconcerted, etc, and that can really compound the issue – If the psychology is bad, the physiology will pay the price.

Since we had wi-fi available to us, it really did do a lot to alleviate her pain and her obvious concerns by having something different to focus on.

Consequently, this really did keep her nerves at bay during the interim of the wait (esp. for her x-ray results); she was able to access her emails, let others know how she was doing and keep informed with potential problems she might be facing (and at this point, information can really help with not feeling completely out of control).

Also, I have naked ADSL (mine comes with a land-line). So if anyone tries to ring me at home while I am connected to the hospital’s wi-fi, it will “redirect” to my iPad via SIP, so I can answer calls and keep friends and family in the loop with what is going on.

Okay, I know this thread was initially about TCH, even so, case in point.

=)

A friend pointed out that the Hospital Cafe has put on a free phone charging station; an incredibly useful thing, if you’ve had to spend any amount of time there and wanted to keep friends/family up-to-date. It was provided by the “Canberra Hospital Foundation”. Great work, CHF!

The provision of Free wifi is a great idea.

Having jut come out of a 6-day stay in TCH, I support this. I could have kept up with emails, news and of course RA (and the intemperate, uninformed and unthoughtful comments like #1 below).

This is a trial, the cost should be relatively low (perhaps even sponsored), and patient well-being would be enhanced.

Do the trial, Katy, and let us all see the results so we can make informed comment when the time comes.

The internet can be used for communicating with family and friends, researching answers to medical questions, administering bills, keeping track of what the doctors and nurses are telling you, reassuring people that you are ok and getting reassurance, and a range of other things that can reduce the trauma of a traumatic experience. And all this, as JimCharles points out, at a primary cost to the user (in terms of devices) and a marginal cost to the hospital.

incredulousandridiculous – perhaps next time think about the human side of things before trashing a very reasonable policy.

Also, calling a woman a “bitch” probably means that you should think about how you relate to women. It’s a hostile, misogynistic term, and I’m sure that being the clever university student that you are, you understand why you should probably apologise for using it.

Last time I was at the ED at Canberra Hospital they had a wifi toilet (or was that a whiffy toilet).
I suppose this will eventually help all the bogans hanging around in the rather grotty waiting room do their phone betting or download cage fighting and schoolyard battles while they eat their disgustingly smelling kebabs while reeking of beer and vomit.

incredulousandridiculous said :

For the record, this is the same Chief Minister who went on holiday with the data tampering bitch who is yet face criminal charges. And the same Chief Minister who presides over a healthcare system consistently ranked in the bottom two States and Territories for many measures of waiting times and responses.

Try explaining this wifi plan to the thousands of aged pensioners whose health only declines further as they age, largely due to insufficient medical treatment. But what would I know, Katy, I’m just an elitist university student who can’t possibly fathom the priority that free Internet represents. Forget nurses being paid adequately or more hospital beds.

So your ongoing degree is neither technical, social nor community or business-orientated?
Part of patient care is listening to what the patients want to help their recoveries.
Although you probably have great grounds to complain about dysfunctional and egotistical nepotists and a seeming unwillingness to independently audit some of the hopelessly naive and bullying business methods practised by a small number of executives, i think you miss the point somewhat.
It’s pretty much standard practice now to look to place wifi into hospitals to service medical systems and alarms, so the idea of opening some of this existing capability up to the public is not necessarily a waste of money, it can even save money and make the patient experience better and cheaper, thus leaving more public money for medical improvements.
Being in hospital is pretty daunting and worrying. Patients don’t want to have to walk to a telephone, or go to a communal TV room with strangers, or be left isolated in bed with nobody to talk to…they want two-way communication, they want familiarity, a feeling of security, and to remain in contact. They want hospitals to feel more like hotels because the feeling of wellbeing can help recovery.
Instead of investing public money into multiple communication/entertainment systems and then having to maintain and update them forever, isn’t the future about providing the capability for patients to communicate however they like, when they like? They can bring a phone, a laptop, a tablet, a pair of Google Glasses…whatever they want…then they take it home with them, upgrade as they like…but they bear that cost away from the public purse?
I don’t know what they charge here, but public hospitals in the States don’t get a great deal from cable companies when installing systems, the cost of which goes on the patient’s bill if they want to use the phone, see a baseball game or watch a movie.
It’s part of the bigger picture but not necessarily prioritising one element of care over another, they all have value.

incredulousandridiculous10:02 am 10 Jun 13

For the record, this is the same Chief Minister who went on holiday with the data tampering bitch who is yet face criminal charges. And the same Chief Minister who presides over a healthcare system consistently ranked in the bottom two States and Territories for many measures of waiting times and responses.

Try explaining this wifi plan to the thousands of aged pensioners whose health only declines further as they age, largely due to insufficient medical treatment. But what would I know, Katy, I’m just an elitist university student who can’t possibly fathom the priority that free Internet represents. Forget nurses being paid adequately or more hospital beds.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.