Expert praise for King’s Lynn hospital’s elderly care programme
Lynn hospital staff have been praised for their efforts to help elderly patients get back on their feet.
Professor Brian Dolan founded the #EndPJParalysis movement in a bid to help stop older patients from losing the ability to do everyday tasks, such as getting dressed, through Deconditioning Syndrome.
Evidence has shown that 10 days in bed is the equivalent of 10 years of ageing in the muscles of people over the age of 80. Once lost, it is harder to regain this muscle control, which impacts on recovery.
But staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital are trying to tackle the issue by encouraging patients to do things like getting dressed and asking relatives to bring in fresh clothes.
And Professor Dolan has visited the Gayton Road site to see its work for himself.
He said: “I like the feel of the QEH. This hospital has a feel of kindness, determination and friendliness and a desire for better.
“The staff here would like to do more to eliminate waste from healthcare systems and there is no shortage of great ideas and solutions to make it even better here.
“The one thing I know about healthcare is that the problems are uniquely similar but the first step towards fixing the problem is identifying the problem. If we can create 1000 stories of small changes then what we can create is a bigger change.”
Earlier this year, the hospital introduced a Red2Green days treatment programme, which is intended to help patients progress to a point where they can go home.
Chief operating officer Ciara Moore said: “We are pleased to be working with Prof Dolan to bring about changes which will support our patients.
“The nurses and doctors on our wards care for many older and frail patients so it is vital that we do our best to ensure that they receive the highest standard of healthcare.
“But we continue to appeal to relatives and carers to support our staff by ensuring patients have a fresh and clean supply of clothing while they are with us. It is vital to the recovery for some patients to get up and moving as soon as possible.”
