Healthcare staff wear their pyjamas to End PJ Paralysis
Staff at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) have been wearing their pyjamas while working, trading places with patients who are being encouraged to get out of bed and into their everyday clothes.
The role reversal is part of Trust’s commitment to the End PJ Paralysis 70 day challenge. Taking place between 17 April and 26 June and coinciding with the NHS 70th birthday celebrations, the challenge aims to get 1million days where patients are out of bed, dressed and moving while in healthcare facilities across England. Healthcare staff are recording the number of patients that are up, out of their pyjamas and mobile in an app that has been developed especially for the challenge. As one of the key NHS trusts leading the initiative, staff from teams across SWFT have signed up to ending PJ paralysis and have tested the app as well as feature in a short film developed by NHS Improvement to encourage other organisations to get involved.
Ending PJ paralysis is about minimising the amount of unnecessary time elderly patients spend in their pyjamas in hospital beds. This is because research has shown that time in bed reduces strength, mobility and overall independence, resulting in longer hospital stays. In addition to the physical impact, wearing pyjamas can reinforce the feeling of being unwell. The End PJ Paralysis challenge looks to change this by getting people in the clothes they would be wearing if they were healthy, promoting a sense of normality and ensuring they are ready to be discharged as soon as it is clinically safe to do so.
Charles Ashton, SWFT Medical Director said: “We’re glad to be one of the lead organisations involved in the End PJ Paralysis 70 Day Challenge because it’s a great, forward-thinking initiative that has shown to make a real difference to patients’ health and wellbeing. Although it is simple it is quite a significant change in mind-set so I’m really pleased to see so many of our staff and patients embracing it as part of our wider work to improve the outcomes for the people we care for.”
The challenge was formally launched on 7 March by Prof Jane Cummings Chief Nursing Officer for England and championed by Pete Gordon Senior NHSI Improvement Manager, Emergency Care Improvement Programme and Prof Brian Dolan who creator of #last1000days and #EndPJParalysis health campaigns.
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