Walk Your Way Back Home hospital campaign launched
By Mary Dennehy
TALLAGHT University Hospital this week launched a new campaign to help patients remain active during their hospital stay – keeping their pre-admission independence.
The Walk Your Way Back Home campaign encourages patients to spend as much time as possible out of bed during their stay in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH).
Tallaght University Hospital staff (inset) a sample of some of the information contained in the new leaflet
Information leaflets for patients and their families provide handy tips for remaining active, highlight the distances between points in the hospital and provide a means to track a patient’s progress.
The campaign was created for TUH by Candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Gerontology, Claire Noonan.
“The leaflets are a wonderful resource for patients and their families,” Ms Noonan said.
“They highlight the important of staying active, getting dressed, walking around, and even the distances between points in the hospital.
“We will also encourage patients to track their progress, even by downloading the pedometer step counter app.
“We know that simple steps like these will help get people home quicker.”
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Consultant Physician in Geriatric and Stroke Medicine at TUH, Professor Sean Kennelly said that people who keep active, even during a hospital stay, have better outcomes.
He said: “[Patients] will likely be discharged quicker and have less risk of losing mobility, fitness or strength and are also less likely to get an infection.
“We will be encouraging this Walk Your Way Back Home initiative to all patients, and especially older people”.
According to Former Leinster and Ireland rugby player and GP, Dr Emmet Byrne, the new campaign is about encouraging patients to play a part in their recovery.
“We know that by not moving, older people can age their muscles rapidly”, Dr Byrne said.
“So getting up, getting dressed and even taking short walks around the ward can help in preventing people losing some of their strength.”
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