The long cable is a ward essential
Standard charging cables are designed for normal rooms where sockets live in sensible places.
Hospital sockets can be behind the bed, above your head, on a wall you cannot reach or apparently assigned by lottery.
A three-metre-plus charging cable gives you a fighting chance of using your phone while it charges.
Bring the charger cable plug as well.
We repeat this because “I packed the cable” is only half a victory when the other half is still plugged into the wall at home.
Keep the phone within reach
Your phone is often your clock, entertainment, contact with home, notes app and emergency source of photographs of exactly which cardigan you meant.
Give it a sensible home beside the bed rather than letting it vanish into the blanket every twenty minutes.
Keep the cable routed so it is not creating a trip hazard or tangling with clinical equipment. If you are unsure where something can safely be plugged in or placed, ask the ward rather than rearranging the bed space yourself.
Headphones are doing social work too
Headphones are useful for television, podcasts, audiobooks and calls.
They are also one of the simplest ways to avoid forcing four strangers to experience your entertainment choices.
Shared bay rule: if it makes noise, headphones.
For lying down, soft headphones designed for sleep — or a sleep headband — are much more useful than hard earbuds or bulky headphones digging into the side of your head. We have tried a frankly stupid number of supposedly sleep-friendly options over the years; comfort matters a lot more than the marketing once your head has actually been on a hospital pillow for ten minutes.
Download things while WiFi is not your problem
If you know you are going in, download a few programmes, podcasts, audiobooks or games beforehand.
Hospital wifi varies. Mobile signal varies. Your patience with a buffering icon will also vary.
Offline entertainment means one less thing has to work properly on a day when plenty of other things already feel unpredictable.
An iPad or tablet is great if you already have one
We are not suggesting anybody needs to buy a tablet for hospital.
If you already own one, it can be brilliant for long days because the screen is easier than a phone for television, reading, video calls and simple games.
A case that folds into a stand is far more useful than holding the thing in front of your face until your arms resign.
Again: use the tech you already like. Admission is not the moment to teach yourself a new device from scratch.
Longer stays create charging traffic
Phone. Tablet. Headphones. Watch. Maybe a sleep headband.
Suddenly one available socket is running an audition process.
For a longer stay, a compact multi-device charger can reduce the number of separate plugs you need to keep track of, provided it is a normal reputable mains charger in good condition and the ward is happy for you to use it.
We would rather keep the setup simple than turn the bed space into Heathrow departures.
Label the boring bits
Chargers are remarkably good at becoming anonymous.
A name label on the plug, cable, headphones case and tablet cover is not glamorous. It is useful when beds move, relatives pack things up or two people in the bay own identical white chargers.
You only need to lose one excellent cable before becoming a person who labels cables.
Phone calls are still phone calls in a shared room
Sometimes you need to talk to family. Sometimes you need privacy.
Keep ordinary calls at an ordinary volume and use headphones where useful. If the conversation is very personal, ask staff whether there is somewhere more private you can use rather than assuming the curtain has developed acoustic insulation overnight.
And if somebody else in the bay is taking a difficult call, the kindest response is usually the same as with every other ward indignity: give them as much privacy as a shared room allows and pretend not to be listening.
Not all entertainment needs a screen
Tech is useful, but a hospital entertainment kit can include tactile things too. A small solo game such as Railroad Ink, a puzzle book, colouring or something like Push Peel can be brilliant when you want your hands occupied and your brain only mildly involved.
For visitors, we would choose something that starts fast, stops fast and does not need a dining table: Travel Rummikub, Connect 4 or a simple card game. The point is not to turn the bay into games night. It is to have something easy to do together when conversation has run out.
We are also building a separate Sick List podcast-recommendations list. Until it exists, download things you already know you like rather than relying on a future page that is not there yet.
When tech is not helping
Put it down.
If scrolling is making you more anxious, the group chat is exhausting you or everybody online appears to have become a medical expert, you are allowed to disappear for a bit.
Tech is there to connect and distract you, not create another job.
This is practical guidance, not medical advice. Hospitals have their own rules about personal electrical equipment and bed spaces. Use equipment in good condition and ask the ward if you are unsure what can be plugged in or where it can safely go.
Printed from thesicklist.co.uk/guides/hospital-wifi-charging-entertainment