RBH aims to get patients out of PJs and back into clothes
LAST week, the Royal Berkshire Hospital welcomed Liz Sargeant from the Emergency Care Improvement Team at
NHS Improvement, to officially open its Dress for Dignity room, and to celebrate the start of the
NHS 70 Days to end PJ Paralysis Challenge.
For many in hospital, wearing pyjamas or hospital gowns all day reinforces being unwell and makes them less likely to get up and moving as soon as they are able to.
Liz said: “We know that if we can encourage patients to get dressed while they are in hospital, they can gain their independence more quickly, have a quicker recovery, and we can help get them home sooner, which is best for patients.”
The Enhanced Recovery Team at the Trust has been working with a group of committed volunteers over the past year to collect donations of clothes from staff and visitors.
These have been invaluable in helping patients who may have come in to hospital as an emergency, or who may not have relatives living close by who can bring them spare clothing to be able to get up and dressed whenever possible during their time in hospital.
This dedicated dressing room now means that the clothes can be hung and sorted clearly and tidily by volunteers, and staff and patients can easily find appropriate clothing to enable them to get out of their pyjamas and into everyday wear.
Sharon Herring, Director of Nursing for Networked Care said “We are extremely grateful to all the people who have given clothes to us, but also to John Lewis, Voluntary Services and the Royal Berks Charity, who helped fund and gave us furniture donations to help refurbish the room”.
“I also want to thank Voluntary Services and the Care Crew who have been working tirelessly to sort the clothing, as well as setting up the room to enable us to help patients in this way.”
The #EndPJParalysis campaign is a national 70-day challenge to get older people back home to their loved ones sooner by getting them dressed and moving around.
The challenge is running across the UK and Ireland until June 26 to tie in with the 70th anniversary of the NHS on July 5.