Hospital staff in pyjamas!
NHS Trust workers aim to speed up recovery of older patients by urging them to stay active
Staff at Scarborough Hospital went to work wearing their pyjamas as part of a campaign to encourage hospital patients to ditch their pyjamas to enable them to get back to their own homes earlier.
Staff at Scarborough Hospital came to work wearing their pyjamas as part of a campaign to help raise awareness of the need to get up and active, away from the hospital bed.
The #EndPJparalysis campaign aims to encourage hospital patients to avoid the dangers associated with being bedbound by ditching their pyjamas and getting moving to enable them to get back to their own homes earlier.
The national End PJ Paralysis drive aims to get older people back home and living much happier and fuller lives.
The campaign will run for 70 days until Tuesday 26 June, to mark 2018 as the 70th anniversary year of the NHS.
As part of the challenge, hospital staff wore their pyjamas to work with the aim of showing staff what it’s like when they have to wear pyjamas while in hospital, often feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable.
Vicky Mulvana-Tuohy, head of AHP Services at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Bedbound patients lose 1-5% of their muscle strength every day they are in bed and they can develop skin breakdown, pressure sores, confusion and fatigue.
“Many patients lose the ability to carry out routine daily functions such as bathing, dressing, getting out of bed and walking, due to unnecessary bed rest.
“For an older person, a loss of muscle strength can make the difference between dependence and independence.
“Every 10 days of bed-rest in hospital is the equivalent of 10 years of muscle ageing for elderly patients. One of the most valuable resources is a patient’s time and getting people up and dressed is a vital step in ensuring that they do not spend any longer than is clinically necessary in hospital.”
‘A loss of muscle strength can make the difference between dependence and independence’