Well it worked for me recently - apparently mobiles aren't the problem with hospital equipment as at first thought. They are also a darn sight cheaper than those on offer at your bedside.
There are still signs around most wards saying not to use them, but no-one pays attention, especially when you see the doctors walking up and down the corridors on theirs. A lot of the time I think the signs are just so you don't disturb other patients - nothing worse than having a common old trout in the bed opposite you gabbing on for hours!
The rules are more relaxed now, but it's best to check with the individual ward.
There's a sign in my dentists not to use the phone as it disrupts their equipment. I don't follow that, unless my dentist has a pacemaker!
I think a lot of the signs just havent been taken down.
When I was in hospital it was annoying when people got calls on their phone and they weren't there to answer,mind you same could be said for the rip off bedside phones too.
If you smoke outside the hospital now the security guards move you on(then ask for a light when they are off cctv!)
I used mine alot when my daughter was born, kept to texting most of the time and phoned during visitor times. Also when she was in with gastro i was in isolation and left well alone so used it alot lol
No problems with mobiles and hospital equipment now,, but we always ask patients with camera phones to tape over the lens so they don't breach another patients privacy by taking their piccy