I’ve struggled with anxiety all my life and have never been comfortable in hospitals. I find it really hard not being able to walk around or be outside. I also have trouble with medication—I’ve tried several, and they all had severe side effects. Recently, I had to go to the hospital because I wasn’t eating and would throw up when I tried.
Everything was okay in the waiting room, but once I was in the patient room, my anxiety started escalating. It was manageable at first, but when the doctor came in and described all the tests they would do, I had a full-on panic attack. I tried to step outside for a bit of fresh air, but I was stopped and not allowed out. After returning to my room and calming down a bit with my mom’s help, the nurse came to insert an IV. I asked if I could go outside for some fresh air first, but he said he wasn’t allowed to let me. After a few minutes with the IV in, I completely lost it, removed the IV myself, and ran outside. Security found me on the sidewalk and convinced me to go back inside and sign out against medical advice. I left and don’t ever want to go back to a hospital.
Overall, I’m coming close to truly disliking hospitals. For a place meant to help people recover, it feels like a prison, and I can’t understand how anyone is expected to stay sane in such a bleak and sterile environment.
I realize my situation might be more extreme than most, but wouldn’t it be better for nearly all patients to have the option to go outside and not be stuck in the same room all day?
Liability is a big factor. While getting some fresh air would have helped you, past incidents have led to strict rules. People have caused problems by getting injured, assaulted, buying drugs, going to local bars, smoking, using drugs, escaping with IV access, and even attempting suicide. Many hospitals don’t have windows that open because patients have jumped out before. Keeping you inside is their way of ensuring your safety, maintaining your health, and avoiding legal issues. Some hospitals with adequate staffing, though rare these days, might be able to send an aide with you to accompany you outside.
Honestly, it boils down to the fact that someone else is responsible for your care, and it’s impossible to manage patients effectively if everyone is coming and going at will. Plus, if something goes wrong, it’s a big problem. Managing medicine, procedures, consultations, and so on requires careful coordination with multiple schedules. Ideally, many things would be different in hospitals, but most are operating with severe shortages and are doing their best to care for as many people as they can with limited staff.
When you’re admitted to a hospital, you’re there because you’re sick enough to need constant monitoring by a nurse. Wanting to take a walk unmonitored suggests you might be better suited for outpatient treatment at this point.
It’s not considered a priority and would need a lot of staff to ensure your safety.
Hospitals could be designed to allow fresh air into rooms and have small, open central courtyards for patients, but it’s just not seen as important. There’s plenty of research showing that getting outside is great for your health, but it’s ignored.
Maybe there’s a shortage of staff and monitoring equipment.