RD&E launches new campaign to end 'pyjama paralysis' and boost patient wellbeing
The RD&E is encouraging some of its inpatients to keep active in hospital and swap their PJs for everyday clothes as part of a new campaign to promote their independence.
The ‘Your Road to Wellbeing’ campaign will encourage patients to stay physically and mentally strong during short stays in hospital so they’re in the best possible shape to complete their recovery at home after they leave.
Frontline clinical staff will work with patients on five key areas: staying mobile and active, eating and drinking well, taking medicines correctly, looking after mental health, and making a going-home plan as soon as possible.
The staying active area targets ‘PJ paralysis’ – so-called because patients can sometimes end up confined to bed in pyjamas when they don’t need to be, increasing their risk of muscle deterioration and hospital-acquired infection. Where appropriate, medical staff at the RD&E will encourage patients to get out of bed, dress in normal clothing and keep mobile rather than staying in bed.
Patients will also be urged to consume plenty of fluid and calories to build strength during their stay and alert staff if they are feeling very anxious or low. And because many of our patients will already be on medication and need new ones, multi-disciplinary teams across the hospital and in the community will help patients take them correctly while they’re here and continue this when they return home.
A final part of the campaign is encouraging patients to agree a going-home plan with ward staff as soon as possible. Studies indicate that most people - once their acute medical needs are taken care of - prefer to keep their independence and complete their recovery at home, where surroundings, routines and faces are more familiar than in a busy acute hospital.
The campaign launches across the Trust this week (19-23 June) with a series of activities and events, including a marathon pyjama relay which took place in Exeter on Wednesday.
Joining members of RD&E staff in the marathon pyjama relay around the Wonford site were former patients and members of the community, each taking at least 0.8 of a mile of the 26.2 mile challenge which lasted all day.
Among those taking part was Len Styles, aged 80 from Honiton, who is an ultra marathon runner and last year ran a 54-mile race. He said keeping active in hospital was an important ‘first step’.
He said: “You are moving forward. It’s the first step to getting back home and getting back to normal life.”
Heart patient Martin Owen, aged 61 from Seaton, ran two legs of the RD&E’s marathon relay. A big fan of Park Runs, he was fitted with pacemaker at the RD&E last year after his heart rate dropped alarmingly low.
He said: “Patients can make themselves feel better if they get out of bed and walk around. It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic. You’ll feel better and you’ll recover quicker.”
Em Wilkinson-Brice, Deputy Chief Executive/Chief Nurse, said: “Our patients’ time is precious and we want to do all we can to help them return to the life they want to lead once we have addressed their acute medical needs.
“Encouraging our inpatients to look after their own physical and mental wellbeing in the short time they’re with us is vital to this. It helps keep them strong and positive in hospital and improves their chances of leaving more quickly to continue recovering at home, where surroundings, routines and faces are more familiar and they have much greater independence and control.
“Patients can be confident that we will give them high quality acute care in hospital for as long as they need it. But evidence shows that staying in hospital for longer than medically necessary is not in their best interests and may actually cause them harm. We see our patients as people first, with homes and normal lives they are often anxious to return to, so we want to help them achieve that as soon as possible.”
