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Comment by tekla | Hacker News Reader

> Go to the hospital healthy, come out sick.

This isn't whats happening. Being sleep deprived for a day is annoying, but hardly a health issue. I bet most people would rather have doctors respond to you suddenly dropping blood O2 levels to under 90% than not.

> (Also, the nurse said nobody sleeps here. Not just the people under observation.)

Yes, nobody sleeps because nurses and doctors are all working >14 hour shifts with on-call rotations trying to keep people ALIVE. I have many medical professionals in my family, all of them are rest deprived, trying to keep track of the myriad of patients all demanding personal constant attention.

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> I have many medical professionals in my family, all of them are rest deprived, trying to keep track of the myriad of patients all demanding personal constant attention.

That is not exactly defense of medical system. If it keeps workers sleep deprived they will make mistakes. This just means system itself sux.

Actually, sleep deprivation, even for one night, is definitely a health issue. And the only reason it's accepted is because it's so common. It's the modern equivalent of drinking out of lead cups.

(And of course a sleep-deprived medical professional is a health hazard to everybody involved. Only a fool thinks otherwise.)

Sleep deprivation is not as dangerous as dying from an acute condition. If you're in the hospital for one night, you're being treated by doctors who want to make sure you're not going to die for the night. If you get admitted for a longer period, it's a different environment altogether. At least this has been my experience.

You get used to the beeping after one night anyway. If not, you can ask the nurse for earplugs or even sleeping pills (although sleeping pills are harder to get).

Then leave. They're not forcing you to stay. Generally no one puts you on observation unless you need it, and by "need it", it means "needs to be disturbed to take tests"

If you think sleep is a higher health factor than the reasons that the hospital want to put you under observation, then just refuse treatment.

If you don't want to be disturbed by patients in the same room, you can pay for that.

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