Hospitals back national campaign to get patients up, dressed and mobile

Elaine Inglesby-Burke CBE, Chief Nursing Officer at The Northern Care Alliance

Patients at five hospitals in Greater Manchester are being encouraged and supported to get out of bed, put on some clothes and become active in order to aid their recovery time following a stay in hospital.

Staff are encouraging patients, particularly those who are older, to take part in a new national 70 Days to End PJ Paralysis campaign at the hospitals run by The Northern Care Alliance, namely Salford Royal, The Royal Oldham, Fairfield General, Rochdale Infirmary and North Manchester General, in a drive to end what is known as ‘PJ Paralysis.’

Over the past six months staff across the Northern Care Alliance have been rolling out initiatives inspired by the End PJ Paralysis campaign, which has resulted in more patients being discharged sooner. 

Popular up and down the country End PJ Paralysis campaign was set up by Prof Brian Dolan with the simple aim of getting patients out of bed, out of their pyjamas, and as active as possible to boost their recovery.

Spending just ten days in bed can result in a ten year aging process in muscles for elderly patients, which in turn can increase the risk of falls, harms (such as pressure ulcers, infections and blood clots), restrictions to every day independent life and mobility. There is also a risk of incontinence with over-reliance on catheters or bedpans, instead of assisting or encouraging patients to toilet as normal.

Elaine Inglesby-Burke CBE, Chief Nursing Officer at The Northern Care Alliance said: “This is one of the most important pieces of work for our organisation and I am proud that so many different teams across the Alliance have taken the social movement to heart. The enthusiasm of staff to improve patient experience has been infectious. When I visit our wards and areas I am constantly impressed with the creative ways in which staff are overcoming

"Getting patients out of bed and participating in shared mealtimes is just one way we are participating in the 70 Days initiative. 

Other ways we are participating in the End PJ Paralysis campaign at our hospitals include:

• Engaging activities - to encourage a friendly and stimulating environment for recovery including afternoon tea, craft events, themed parties (Ward 21 Fairfield General Hospital)
• What matters most to me today? A speech bubble is displayed above the patient’s bed saying what activity they would like to do that day, for example get out of bed and watch the match, or to recover and to be discharged home
• Team engagement – involving full departments in the End PJ Paralysis campaign
• At The Royal Oldham hospital on the AMU ward we have reduced reliance on commodes
• At the Clinical Assessment Unit at Rochdale Infirmary we have introduced a new ‘hydration station’ – See case study below
• At the Pendleton Suite at Salford Royal we have reduced the number of pressure ulcers
• At North Manchester General Hospital on Ward I6 we have provided information to patients and relatives about the campaign, meal times and activities

"As part of the national 70 Days campaign our hospital wards will be capturing data to answer two simple questions each day; How many patients are dressed in day clothes at midday and of these dressed patients, how many have mobilised e.g. walked to the toilet / shower or walked around the bed? This data will then be fed into the national 70 Days campaign, which aims to get 1 million patients up, mobile and dressed in 70 days."

The 70 Days campaign is running from 17 April until 26 June 2018 to coincide with the 70^thbirthday celebration for the NHS.