Patients recovering from broken hips and other orthopaedic injuries at the University Hospital of North Tees are benefiting from new, specialist seating thanks to an initiative led by the acute orthopaedic therapy team.
Senior occupational therapist Ella Matthews, with the support of her colleagues and the wider acute therapy team, successfully led a project to secure additional specialist chairs for patients on wards 32 and 33, helping to enhance comfort, rehabilitation and recovery.
This project was built on the success of a previous initiative led by senior occupational therapist Lauren Bettinson, senior respiratory physiotherapist Amie Cronin and senior occupational therapist Megan Wilson, who successfully implemented a project looking into the impact that appropriate, specialist seating can have for patients.
Trust charity
The project clearly showed how much more time the patients could spend in the chairs and the positive impact it had on their recovery, reducing falls risks and rehabilitation. The team secured 18 chairs at a cost of over £40,000 from the trust’s charity, North Tees and Hartlepool Together, which went towards the purchase of 18 chairs.
With an additional pilot being led by Ella and her team from orthopedics, they have secured funding for a further five chairs at a cost of £15,000 to be used on the orthopedic ward base.
Recovery
Rebecca Auton, clinical care coordinator for the acute therapy teams at the University Hospital of North Tees said: “Patients who are recovering from injures such as hip fractures do better with their recovery when mobilised early. Having appropriate seating to promote patients sitting out for longer is essential to support this.
“The standard chairs in the ward are uncomfortable, meaning the patients spend more time in bed then required. The new chairs are designed for these patients and are adjustable and much more comfortable.
“Patients are happy to be in these chairs for longer periods of time and in just a few weeks we have seen a huge increase in chair-time for our patients, meaning they can recover quicker, engage in their rehabilitation and return home sooner.”
During the pilot with the specialist chairs, the team achieved the National Hip Fracture Database national target for day-one post mobilisation with 85% of patients getting out of bed on the first day after surgery, compared with an average of 67% before the chairs were introduced.
The project is an example of how therapy teams across University Hospitals Tees are driving improvements that have a direct and lasting impact on patient care.
Impact
Ella Matthews said: “Every patient wants to get home as soon as they can but who would have thought that a chair could play such a vital role in helping them?
“The positive impact the specialist seating had on our patients during the pilot was so obvious that it made developing the case for further investment really easy. Patients were so much happier and more relaxed in the specialist chairs as soon as we got them onto the wards.
“A broken hip is a serious injury and we’ll do anything we can to help our patients’ recovery and to confidently get back on their feet. Getting the investment for the chairs means more people can remain comfortable, yet engage in rehabilitation and be more mobile.”
The occupational therapy team will continue to monitor and review patients’ opinions and usage of the chairs and the impact on their overall recovery.