BMJ  2005;331:637 (17 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7517.637-b

Letter

Using mobile phones in hospitals

New phones seem not to interfere with new equipment

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

Editor—I agree with Taffinder that using mobile telephones in hospital makes it much easier and quicker to contact people and reply to them.1 When I worked in Singapore for a year most staff used mobile phones in hospitals. The quality of care for patients was high, and doctors' response to calls or bleeps quick and efficient.

Current mobile phones are highly advanced digital phones. Older phones were analogue, interfering with medical equipment more than new models do. I have seen senior and junior colleagues use mobile phones in operating theatres and anaesthetic rooms without interference to medical equipment. I have also seen mobile phones being used in intensive care units, again without problems.

The policy of not using mobile phones in hospitals should change, provided that the hospital does not have ancient medical equipment that might be affected by mobile phones.

Velupandian Guruswamy, specialist registrar in anaesthesia

Warrington Hospital NHS Trust, Warrington, Cheshire WA5 1QG umavelu18@aol.com

Competing interests: None declared.

  1. Taffinder N. The finger, the foot, my bone cancer. BMJ 2005;331: 463. (20-27 August.)[Free Full Text]

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Relevant Article

The finger, the foot, my bone cancer
Nick Taffinder
BMJ 2005 331: 463. [Extract] [Full Text]

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