Covid-19 patients often experience disorientation and delirium after being sedated during treatment, and to help deliver the best care possible Poole Hospital Charity has been working with the patient experience team at Poole Hospital Foundation NHS Trust. The charity spent £1,000 from a grant provided by our Urgent Appeal to fund vital delirium activity boxes.
The boxes, which include strengthening equipment, puzzles, quiz books, colouring activities, board games and card games, will be used by the hospital’s respiratory therapy team to aid post-Covid-19 patient rehabilitation.
Boxes also contain essential day and night clocks which clearly display the time and whether it is day or night. These are extremely useful to patients with delirium as it provides a clear indication of time. In the future staff say these can be used for other patients, not just those affected by Covid-19.
Sara Fripp, Poole Hospital Charity manager, said:
“The charity is really pleased to have been able to assist with the funding of the boxes and it is positive to know that they are being used to help patients most in need helping them make the best recovery possible.”
Suzie Jupp, acute inpatient team lead physiotherapist, said:
“The activity boxes will assist therapists working with the patients to re-orientate, improve cognition and ultimately reduce the delirium experience due to the effects of long-term sedation, on top of waking up in an unfamiliar environment.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic this has been compounded by staff wearing full personal protective equipment and families being unable to visit.
“The contents of the boxes will enable a 24 hour multi-disciplinary rehabilitation approach and can be used by all who are involved in the patient’s care on the wards until their return home.”
Sarah Harding, patient experience team, said:
“It has been a very rewarding project to be involved in, knowing that our efforts will help not only patients recovering from Covid-19 but others who have had a stay in critical care and who need additional rehabilitation.”
Urgent Appeal Grants
Grants given to NHS charities are used to meet the immediate and urgent needs of patients, staff and volunteers. Funding is also going towards helping partnerships outside hospitals, such as hospices, community healthcare and social care, making sure patients leaving hospital have access to the care they need to recover. In the longer term it will also fund programmes to help staff and volunteers recover fully once the crisis has abated, reducing the long-term impact on them and the people they care about.
About the Urgent Appeal
The NHS Charities Together Urgent Appeal acknowledges and supports NHS staff and volunteers caring for COVID-19 patients. It has been put together in liaison with NHS England and national bodies, our member NHS charities and national giving platforms. Click here to donate.
