My own thought on the issue is that having a ban reduces the continuous
chatter we would otherwise have in cubicles and trolley areas. Imagine your
consultations being continually interrupted by the sound of a mobile phone.
Every teenager has one now! Hence the ban has a similar function to a ban in
certain carriages on Virgin Rail. I agree there seems to be no "medical"
reason for a ban.
Ray McGlone
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Ryan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2003 8:21 AM
Subject: Use of mobile phones in hospital: time to lift the ban?
> I know we have discussed this before but here is an interesting letter
from
> Ara Darzi et al (Professor Sir Ara Darzi now, my first SHO to have
received
> a knighthood !) in this week's lancet supporting mobile phone usage in
> hospitals: I wonder if we are suboptimally using this technology in
> Emergency Departments ?
>
> Sir--Hospitals in the UK have had a ban on mobile phone (cell phone) use
on
> their premises since the early 1990s. This ban was prompted by a warning
> issued by the UK Medical Devices Agency highlighting the possible risks of
> mobile phones inadvertently interfering with medical equipment. However,
> there are, we believe, at least three good reasons to review the current
> position.
>
> First, almost 10 years after the ban's introduction, there remains an
> absence of evidence of any real risk to patients' safety. Although a few
> studies provide some support for the current policy,1,2 most investigators
> have been more sceptical about the actual risk posed. In a 6-month survey
of
> mobile phone interference in a hospital ward, Hietanen and colleagues3
found
> no evidence of equipment failures. Irnich and Tobisch4 tested medical
> devices used in intensive care units for electromagnetic interference from
> mobile phones, and concluded that "prohibition of mobile phones in
hospitals
> is based not on real evidence, but on an intellectual and precautionary
> impression without knowledge of susceptibility of the devices". They
further
> argue that "prohibition of mobile phones in patient wards is not
justifiable
> in terms of patient safety".
>
> Second, mobile phones have evolved greatly since the ban was introduced.
> Evidence suggests that Digital Global System Mobile (GSM) phones currently
> in use interfere less with medical devices than did their analogue
> predecessors.3 In light of these technological developments, some groups
> have suggested that mobile phones may be used even in areas with many
> instruments, such as critical care units, provided that a separation of at
> least 1 m is maintained from medical devices.5
>
> Third, the reality is that mobile phones are used in hospitals by
patients,
> their relatives, and medical staff. At present, even when on hospital
> premises, many consultants prefer to be contacted by mobile phone. Some
> hospitals have issued specialist registrars with mobile phones so that
they
> can be contacted directly by general practitioners. Furthermore, in our
> experience, mobile phones are frequently left on in operating theatres,
> where much potentially vulnerable equipment is in use.
>
> Although mobile phones have not officially been integrated into hospital
> life, they have become an essential communication tool for modern society;
> figures from the UK Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) show that 80% of
> households own at least one. Thus, any ban is likely to prove difficult to
> enforce.
>
> The absence of any real evidence of risk to patients' safety, coupled with
> advances in handheld technology, should cause hospital trusts and their
> advisory bodies to reappraise the current restriction against mobile phone
> use in hospitals.
>
> *Omer Aziz, Aziz Sheikh, Paraskevas Paraskeva, Ara Darzi
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> ----
> *Flat R, 11 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 3UL, UK (OA); Department of
Public
> Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, London (AS);
> Department of Surgical Oncology and Technology, Imperial College of
Science
> Technology and Medicine, London (PP, AD) (e-mail:[log in to unmask])
>
>
> 1 Barbaro V, Bertolini P, Benassi M, DiNallo AM, Reali L, Valsecchi S.
> Electromagnetic interference by GSM cellular phones and UHF radios with
> intensive-care and operating-room ventilators. Biomed Instrum Technol
2000;
> 34: 361-69.
>
> 2 Clifford KJ, Joyner KH, Stroud DB, Wood M, Ward B, Fernandez CH. Mobile
> telephones interfere with medical electrical equipment. Australas Phys
Eng
> Sci Med 1994; 17: 23-27. [PubMed]
>
>
> 3 Hietanen M, Sibakov V, Hallfors S, von Nandelstadh P. Safe use of mobile
> phones in hospitals. Health Phys 2000; 79: S77-84.
>
> 4 Irnich WE, Tobisch R. Mobile phones in hospitals. Biomed Instrum
Technol
> 1999; 33: 28-34.
>
> 5 Anon. Cell phones and walkie-talkies: is it time to relax your
restrictive
> policies? Health Devices 1999; 28: 409-13.
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