Posted 02 February 2017 - 09:00
Posted 02 February 2017 - 09:00
News
Campaign gets inpatients out of pyjamas to help speed up recovery
Nurses at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust are leading a campaign to get patients out of bed and dressed during the day in a bid get them more active.
Nurses at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust are leading a campaign to get patients out of bed and dressed during the day, in a bid get them more active.
A hashtag – #endPJparalysis – is being used on social media, while posters have been displayed on wards to encourage patients and their families to bring in day clothes and comfortable shoes.
Trust deputy chief nurse Ann-Marie Riley said encouraging patients to be active would help recovery, reduce muscle wastage and maintain independence.
She also hopes it will lead to patients being discharged quicker.
Ms Riley said wearing pyjamas during the day had become the norm, but that idea needed to be challenged.
Improving lives
‘Patients get dressed and are mobile around the ward. They use the dining rooms for meals and have a schedule of physio or different activities on the ward or in the day rooms,’ she said.
The campaign might also encourage patients who are less mobile to sit up in bed or move to a sofa or seat.
Ms Riley added that staff had embraced the idea since it was brought in three months ago.
The initiative came about when the trust invited New Zealand Canterbury District Health Board director and nurse Brian Dolan to speak about his Last 1,000 Days campaign in October.
It is aimed at improving the lives of older patients and ensuring they are valued.
All ages
After his talk, nurses from Nottingham, New Zealand and Ireland discussed ways to promote these aims, but to include patients of all ages. The result was #endPJparalysis.
Ms Riley said the biggest challenge had been getting families to bring in clothes, especially for patients who have been in hospital for some time. But new patients are being told at the pre-operative stage.
Other trusts, such as the University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust, have since taken up the idea.
A Twitter chat, using the hashtag #endPJparalysis, will take place on 7 February between 7pm and 8pm to discuss the project.
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