Hospital mobile phone ban ‘unfounded’

The current ban on mobile phone use in hospitals is “unfounded” and based on a “slender” amount of research, according to an expert in sociology.

The use of mobile phones is restricted in many hospital areas because of fears that their transmissions could adversely affect the operation of electronic medical equipment, four per cent of which could be affected, the research discovered.

However, Adam Burgess, a senior lecturer in sociology, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that the restrictions should be applied “as liberally as possible”.

“[This is] a classic case of overkill where everything becomes restricted so no one knows the specific reason for why there might be a particular problem,” he claimed.

He concluded that safety risks should be tackled “intelligently”.

The comments come following a report in the British Medical Journal suggesting that the mobile phone ban may be “too strict”.