A new model of working which is helping urology patients who often have complex needs access rehabilitation and therapy while recovering from illness or injury on a hospital ward, helping them gain independence quicker, has been showcased to the NHS chief for Allied Health Professions.
Suzanne Rastrick, chief Allied Health Professions officer for NHS England, met with therapy staff at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital on Friday 17 November.
During her visit, she heard how integrating therapy-based staff into the day-to-day running of a ward had improved outcomes for patients.
The innovative pilot, which is being run on the urology ward on H Floor, has allowed nursing and therapy staff to identify rehabilitation needs of urology patients as soon as they are referred to the ward, meaning that rehabilitation can begin straight away from all staff on the ward. By integrating therapists into the ward team, nurses and therapy staff have been able to learn from each other, enabling patients to achieve their goals and work towards regaining their independence. This means patients are more likely to go home straight after recovering from an illness or injury rather than being referred to a rehabilitative care setting.
Examples of the types of interventions therapy and nursing staff have shared include mobility assessments, identifying the correct equipment and techniques for moving and handling, respiratory care and rehabilitation through functional tasks to promote independence and recovery.
Steven Storey, who lives with multiple sclerosis said that the therapy-based care he received on the ward made a huge difference to him after he suffered with an infection.
“My MS is massively affected by heat, and as my temperature increased with the infection my symptoms exacerbated, causing me to lose balance, coordination and vision. Prior to being admitted to hospital, I was almost unable to move and could barely even see my phone to dial '999'.
“But thanks in no small part to the nursing and therapy staff on H Floor, I recovered well. They conducted a series of intensive weight bearing, stretching and balance sessions on the ward, and combined these with immediate and longer term planning to empower me to make small and simple changes to minimise the impact any future infections or indeed any other incidents could have. This included reminding me to use voice-activated dialling if I needed to call emergency services again, a seemingly minor but actually, a potentially very important reminder!"
Suzanne Rastrick, chief Allied Health Professions officer for NHS England, said: “It was a pleasure to meet with such a range of motivated, innovative allied health professionals, and hear first-hand, patient testimony of the empowering impact integrated working between therapy and ward nursing staff is having on urological patients with complex needs at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals should definitely be proud of its allied health professionals and the valuable role they can play in improving patient care.”
