"Noisy nights"

I had been recovering from surgery at Margaret River Hospital for over 3 weeks and had generally been having a full nights sleep without too much interruption. The day nursing staff and support staff had been nothing but professional, caring and considerate. I am extremely grateful for their care and have been recovering well.

However, I found one night was an absolute nightmare! I had to call the nurse in at 1am asking for ear plugs as I felt they, and other nursing staff, were laughing and carrying on talking so loud that it woke me from my sleep even after I took a strong sleeping tablet at 10pm. I then had to call the nurse in again at 3am as it was continuing and from 5:30am I believe the nurses talked non stop with raised voices.

I asked for the door of my shared room to be closed but the patient who I shared with was claustrophobic. The patient I shared with has recently suffered a stroke and needs the nurses to help them go to the toilet 3 to 4 times during the night which also woke me up. I requested to change rooms as I initially had my own room but I don’t have private health insurance yet. 

I do understand that I was in hospital, I had been there for 3 weeks but I feel night nurses should be more considerate when patients are trying to get a good nights sleep. I felt physically nauseated having been so sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation effects health and recovery. I need to do physio to help with my recovery to go home but I was just too sleep deprived and exhausted to do physio and had to sleep most of the day. 

I am not one to ever complain and again I am very grateful but it almost seemed to me that they were deliberately trying to keep patients awake one night sadly. 

I just wanted to have the energy and strength to do my physio therapy to recover and go home but I could not because I had to sleep all day because I was completely exhausted from sleep deprivation which can obviously clearly be rectified as I believe there were many beds available.