6 July 2017

Hospital staff in Shropshire donned their pyjamas to highlight a campaign which is designed to help patients recover more quickly – by simply maintaining their daily routine.

Staff on Ward 11 at PRH (including Deirdre Fowler, Director of Nursing Midwifery and Quality, far right) in their pyjamas to highlight #endPJparalysis

Nurses, Health Care Assistants and other ward staff at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital wore their pyjamas on Tuesday (4 July 2017) to mark ‘Independence Day’

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) used the USA holiday to highlight the importance of patients remaining mobile, having their own independence and wearing their own clothes during the day while recovering in hospital.

The day highlighted #endPJparalysis, a national campaign originated by Professor Brian Dolan which encourages patients to get up, dressed and moving while in hospital. This helps to prevent the complications of being immobile, including chest infections, muscle degeneration, clotting; as well as shifting patient’s perceptions from ‘I’m sick’ to ‘I’m getting better’.

Under the banner of ‘Get Up, Get Dressed and Get Moving’, health professionals say that #endPJparalysis helps to encourage people to get out of bed during the day while staying in hospital which can:

  • Prevent loss of muscle strength
  • Reduce stay in hospital
  • Avoid high risk of infection
  • Assist a quicker recovery
  • Encourage patients to maintain a normal routine
  • Return patients home sooner

    Staff on Ward 16 at PRH in their pyjamas to highlight #endPJparalysis

Deirdre Fowler, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Quality at SaTH, said: “It’s really important that patients who are able try to maintain a normal routine whilst staying in hospital, including wearing their normal clothes during the day and getting out of bed.

“For people over 80, 10 days in a bed ages muscles by 10 years. One week of bed-rest results in 10% muscle loss and this 10% loss of strength could make the difference between dependence and independence.

“Other harms of bed rest include higher risk of thrombosis or delirium, pressure sores, infection or loss of muscle usage, loss of confidence, and greater dependence.  It can also cause incontinence – by too often resorting to catheters, pads, or bedpans – or constipation, instead of assisting and encouraging patients to go to the toilet as they usually would.

“It can also help to ensure more hospital beds are available by improving patient flow through our hospitals , enabling more timely discharges, reducing the patient’s length of stay, and freeing up beds for the sickest patients as a priority.”

Staff on a number of wards at both PRH and RSH wore pyjamas on Tuesday to highlight the #endPJparalysis initiative, which first launched on Ward 32 at RSH in March.

Staff on Ward 17 at PRH in their pyjamas to highlight #endPJparalysis

Ruth Smith, Matron for Medicine at PRH, said: “We wanted to highlight this really important initiative in a fun and eye-catching way.

“A number of staff wore pyjamas during their shift which launched conversations about #endPJparalysis and raised its profile.

“We ensured that the initiative met our Infection Prevention and Control criteria and did not compromise patient care.

“I’m delighted the day was such a big success as we continue to roll out the #endPJparalysis campaign across our hospitals.”