Posted 01 August 2017 - 09:00
Posted 01 August 2017 - 09:00
News
#EDFit2Sit campaign aims to help emergency department patients stay active
Emergency department staff begin campaign to keep patients more active.
Emergency department staff have begun a campaign to keep patients more active.
The #EDFit2Sit project at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) aims to help patients avoid deconditioning by providing seating, rather than trolleys, where appropriate.
NUH was the first trust to adopt the #EndPJparalysis campaign, which encourages inpatients to get out of bed and dressed during the day.
An aid to recovery
Increased activity can help recovery, reduce muscle wasting, maintain independence, and lead to earlier discharge.
Emergency department matron at the Queen’s Medical Centre Jane Newton, said: ‘Everyone here understands the important message behind #EndPJparalysis and recognises the benefits for patients being encouraged and supported to get up, get dressed and keep active.
‘We were keen to think about what we could do to play our part and decided to implement #EDfit2sit in the department so that when patients are able to they are encouraged to remain seated during their time with us rather than being on a trolley.
Remaining active
‘Obviously we do our best to make sure patients are able to go home from emergency department rather than on to the ward, but if they do need to be admitted we have helped start them thinking about the importance of keeping active to avoid deconditioning. This will have an impact on their stay and play a part in getting them home as soon as possible.’
The trust’s deputy chief nurse Ann-Marie Riley said: ‘The #EDfit2sit campaign makes sure that from the minute a patient comes through the doors staff are thinking about these important factors and helping to set the tone for their stay with us, however long that may be.’
How the #EndPJparalysis campaign started
The idea for #EndPJparalysis was prompted by a discussion at the trust in November 2016 about patients spending their days in pyjamas.
NHS-trained nurse Brian Dolan, director of service improvement at Canterbury District Health Board in New Zealand, had been invited to Nottingham to talk about his Last 1,000 Days campaign, which is aimed at improving the lives of older patients and ensuring they are valued. This prompted a discussion about patients wearing pyjamas.
Following a twitterchat after Mr Dolan's talk, the #EndPJParalysis campaign was born, and has been taken up in the UK and across the world.
In a letter to Nursing Standard last month, Mr Dolan wrote: 'When I first created #EndPJparalysis, little did I know it would adopted globally – and particularly across the UK – as a vehicle for enabling patients to get up, dressed and moving while in hospital.
'Above all the campaign is about patient choice, dignity and improving safety. Its not about labelling, or forcing people out of bed, or inferring in any way that staff are not doing their jobs.'
Further information
PJparalysis Twitter campaign gets trusts moving
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