I recently fell into a twitter conversation that started with an innocent tweet by Dr Ros Taylor (@hospicedoctor):

I was surprised to learn that toast, a humble source of warmth of comfort, is banned in some hospitals.

I joined the conversation to ask whether anyone was allowed to use heat packs or hot water bottles in their workplaces. The unanimous response was “No.”

I understand the rationale behind these policies (risk of fire, risk of heat injury to patient with sensory deficit) but are they a bit heavy-handed for palliative care patients?

What do you think? Have you worked with similar policies? Is it time for a randomised control trial into benefits vs harms of toast and heat packs?

Elissa