From hospital to home , in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Jessica Singleton and Emily Hewitt reflect on the joint occupational therapy and physiotherapy response to the COVID-19 pandemic at King ’ s College Hospital NHS Trust
When the COVID-19 pandemic arose
and a UK lockdown commenced in March 2020 , the advice from NHS England was that hospitals needed to increase acute and critical care bed capacity and facilitate safe and rapid discharges ( NHS England 2020 ).
It suggested that deployment of staff should occur early , with the correct processes , and recommended that it is important for staff to feel their knowledge and skills are being used to maximum patient benefit .
NHS England also suggested that allied health professionals are vital in leading and delivering on rehabilitation services to drive hospital flow , reduce readmission and optimise early discharge and recovery ( NHS England 2020 ).
From hospital to home In response to the COVID-19 pandemic , occupational therapists and physiotherapists at King ’ s College Hospital were faced with the opportunity to help set up a new Hospital to Home ward , alongside a multidisciplinary team and with support of the transformation team .
The Hospital to Home ward was a therapy and nursing led inpatient ward that was set up in less than one week and ran for two months during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic .
The purpose of this ward was to provide a safe environment for patients who were deemed to be medically optimised for discharge , but were not safe to be discharged straight into the community .
It enabled patients to receive further intervention before discharge , whilst also removing them from the acute hospital site and therefore supporting the trust with patient flow and bed capacity .
In order to staff the ward , band five occupational therapists and bands three and four therapy assistants were redeployed into nursing runner roles to work a shift pattern covering the 24-hour period , seven days a week , working alongside registered nurses .
Having therapy trained staff working within nursing roles provided an opportunity for patients to be therapeutically assisted in activities of daily living 24-hours a day , with the aim to optimise independence , promote participation in activities and reduce reliance on physical assistance and use of aids such as bed pans and commodes .
The separate therapy team was led by a clinical lead occupational therapist and comprised of band six and seven occupational therapists and physiotherapists from various specialities , and
22 OTnews December 2020