October 2023 – New volunteer roles with the NCH&C NHS Trust to support the ‘reconditioning the nation’ campaign

Deconditioning is the loss of physical, psychological, and functional capacity due to inactivity and is associated with the loss of muscle mass, increased risk of falls and reduced independence. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become more important to increase activity and promote rapid change in all with the aim of preventing deconditioning, most particularly within older patients across NHS Trusts.

Evidence suggests that:

• Deconditioning contributed to delayed discharge in more than 47% of older patients
• For 60% of patients on bed rest there is nothing documented to explain why
• 17% of older medical patients who were walking independently two weeks prior to admission needed help to walk on discharge
• 50% of patients experience functional decline between admission and discharge
• Patients spend up to 83% of their time in bed, and 12% in a chair.

So how do we go about reconditioning the nation? The ‘National Reconditioning Games’ is a program which aims to prevent deconditioning by encouraging health and social care settings to come up with innovative and fun ways to promote physical activity, and functional and emotional wellbeing. It is hoped that these activities will reduce deconditioning and associated harms whilst also improving patient outcomes and hospital discharges.

At NCH&C the Volunteer Services Team are working alongside ward staff to build a team of activity and companionship volunteers to support patients in making small daily changes to their routines that will increase their muscle power, circulatory volume, skin integrity, dignity, confidence, and independence amongst other positive outcomes.

A main initiative is for physiotherapists to do the main mobility exercises with patients and then to leave them with a personalised list of simple exercise instructions that will help to build up muscle condition i.e., leg raises and arm lifts which can be supported by a ‘Patient Companionship Volunteer’. These volunteers are also able to complete ‘This is me’ details for a patient – particularly those with dementia – to give ward staff more of a personal insight into the patient’s background, likes, lifestyle and hobbies and provides a framework of questions to have a conversation around. Plus, those patients wishing to contact family and friends who live afar can also be supported by our volunteers to use phones and tablets for video calling.

Besides our NCH&C ‘Patient Companionship Volunteer’ role which provides 1-2-1 support to patients on NCH&C wards in the afternoons, we are also recruiting a team of ‘Patient Activities Volunteers’ across our wards to encourage patients to participate in small group activities in the morning including quizzes, puzzles, newspaper reading, arts and crafts and simple sports. Another initiative is a ‘Movement Board or Menu’ which is being piloted – a simple list of daily activities for the patient to work towards e.g., ‘got out of bed and sat in my chair’, ‘dressed in my own clothes’, ‘completed my own exercises’ – all simple tasks that support ADL’s (activities of daily living) and can encourage patients towards participation in the volunteer activity groups.

Do you feel you would like to support the Reconditioning Games by becoming an NCH&C Patient Companionship or Activities volunteer? If yes, then we already have these roles available in Swaffham, Kelling, North Walsham, Dereham, Norwich and Wymondham and more locations being added in the future. For further information please complete this application link and your local NCH&C Volunteer Co-ordinator will contact you.