Ward-led enablement programme gives independence back to 80-year old who lost the use of his legs

Eighty year old Roy was admitted to hospital following the sudden loss of feeling and control of his legs. He was put on stroke ward and following many brain scans, spine scans, and MRIs, doctors were unable to work out why he had experienced this. To date Roy still doesn’t have a diagnosis and yet he has made a remarkable recovery thanks to the fact this reablement care started while in the hospital rather than once he was home following discharge (which is common practice with older people who are hospitalised).

Roy spent 64 days in Colchester Hospital and during this time, the ECL reablement team worked with him to regain his mobility so that when returned home we was already more mobile and able to be more independent. Roy was under the care of a team of ECL Reablement specialists including a Trusted Assessor who worked with him to create a care plan to increase his mobility over time, occupational therapists and community care assistants who implemented this care from rehabilitation exercises to help him walk again and working with him to undertake daily tasks such as personal care while in the hospital. The team also supported him when he returned home.

Roy said: “I thought it was incredible. The ECL team brought me back to life. I really feel like I have a new lease of life. I was on the stroke ward first for 39 days where I was having physio on and off using parallel bars and cycling and I was able to use a wheelchair to mobilise around the ward. I then got moved to Birch ward and I was there for 25 days. During this time I was seen by a therapist who gave me exercises to work on in between her visits.

“The ECL team started with me on the 4^th of October and while, I didn’t need help with my personal care, they would lay out my towels and clean clothes so that they were close to hand and I didn’t have to wait for a nurse to help me get things. They supported me daily with my exercises to build up my strength and showed me how to stand up properly and it made such a difference.

“When I was moved from the stroke ward, I still wasn’t able to walk. The ECL ladies changed that! They spoke with the therapy team and requested that I try and walk with them so that we all knew what I could do before going home. The next day this happened. I managed to walk the length of my bed sat down and then walked back again, the physios then saw me that afternoon. Because of the work we did on the ward, I found the transition home to be very good. I don’t know where I would be now if they hadn’t helped me while I was on the ward. I was rather amazed that first day home when they were here. The support was so much better than I had expected! They have helped me every single day with my walking. I was only managing one length of the room, now I am doing up to 40 lengths a day. I don’t think there is any more as a team that ECL could have done for me.”

Since returning home Roy has met the personal goals that he set for himself with the support of the ECL Trusted Assessor. He is able to manage most of his personal care on his own at home and is able to walk further each day with the support of a walking frame. His confidence has grown considerably and he is very happy with his progress. ECL also stepped in to provide a physiotherapist when he was let down by the community physiotherapist that had been organised.

Roy went on to say: “I was really impressed by the service as a whole. I wasn’t expecting it to be so professional. ECL has changed my opinion of care – they were very professional and offered a level of service that I would expect if I was paying a lot of money to have private care. I am honestly surprised at the excellent set up and am very happy with the service.”

For more information about ECL’s reablement support visit https://www.ecl.org/services/care-in-hospital