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Heartbeat: Promoting patient independence in elderly care

May 1, 2019

Occupational Therapist, Francesca D’Souza and Physiotherapist, Hannah Jenns, along with other members of their team, are leading a patient enablement project that is helping elderly patients regain their mobility and independence as quickly as possible.

They started the enablement project to educate and empower nursing staff with new moving and handling skills. Hannah says: “The training for nurses and healthcare assistants is both theoretical and practical, to enhance their confidence when using specific pieces of equipment including patient turners and a sara stedy, in addition to adjusting crutches and walking aids to the correct height.

“At the end of their training, they are presented with a certificate for their CPD folders. Nurses and healthcare assistants have engaged really well with our training and although their roles are so busy, they recognise that investing time in getting elderly patients mobile as early as possible means that patients can do more for themselves, which is helpful all-round.”

There are many advantages for elderly patients. Francesca explains: “Helping patients become independent and maintain their daily routines is important for their recovery. Their length of stay in hospital is reduced and by getting them moving at an early stage, rehabilitation is not always needed.”

Here are some interesting statistics that demonstrate the issues Francesca and Hannah are aiming to tackle through the patient enablement project:

  • We lose 17 per cent of our muscle mass if in bed for 72 hours
  • The effects of bed rest can take over 60 days to recover from
  • 13 per cent of people on bed rest for more than 24 hours suffer from deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
  • If someone is in bed for 13 days, they are 3 times more likely to get a chest infection
  • The gut movement is 66 per cent slower when lying down
  • Pressure sores can start to develop within 2 hours

Auditing is ongoing and patients are encouraged to mobilise as long as it’s safe to do so on the first day of admission to the ward.

Francesca continues: “Traditionally if nurses are unsure, they will wait for therapists to assess the patient. If this falls on a Friday evening, the patient may not be reviewed until Monday morning which could have a detrimental impact on their length of stay in hospital. The training is helping to eliminate such issues.

“We’ve developed some fantastic relationships across multi-disciplinary teams as a result of the project and ward managers have been very supportive. We are always willing to help nursing staff with joint sessions if they require help with specific patients too.”