Patient's mobile phones in Psych units

[MHN]

do any of the psych units you work in allow patients to keep their mobile phones or does the unit have a policy that requires all phones to be handed over on admission and returned on discharge. thanks in anticipation MHN

[Dolphin777]

At the only remaining open psychoanalytic hospital in the country, patients are allowed to have TV's, phones, and computers in their rooms and you know what? None of them are homeless or on SSI/SSDI like the pts in other psych hospitals who are denied basic amenities like phones and TV's.

[Larry77, RN]

On our unit cell phones are not banned but they are closely monitored. Each pt has to keep their phones in a locker that only staff has access to. We will let them use their phones (mostly used for long distance calls) as long as it's not during group time. Our unit is separated into a locked unit and an open unit (also locked but not as secure) and no phones at all without staff supervision in the locked unit.