Keeping active in the hospital
Information for patients
Get up, get moving, get home
Staying active while in hospital can keep you healthy and help you maintain your independence. Sticking to a routine similar to what you do at home, such as getting out of bed, getting dressed and accessing the bathroom, can help your recovery and prevent hospital-related deconditioning. There are lots of benefits to keeping active while you're in hospital, such as:
- Improved sleep and mood
- Less risk of becoming disorientated or confused
- Less risk of skin damage, blood clots and chest infections
- Improved appetite
- Less risk of constipation
- Less weakness and fatigue, which can cause a greater risk of falling, loss of confidence and further mobility problems.
- Better able to cope when you return home
How to stay active while in hospital
Your stay in hospital will be shorter if you try to keep to normal daily routines and activities. If you are able, do the following, they will aid your recovery:
- Bring in your own comfortable clothes and sturdy, well-fitting footwear. Try and dress yourself for the day as you normally would, and ask for help if you need it.
- Sit up for all meals, out of bed in your chair if possible is best.
- Get out of bed and move around during visiting times if you are able.
- Advise the clinical staff about your home environment, your normal daily routine and if you receive any help at home from family, friends or carers.
- Friends and family can help you do your exercises if you have been given some to do.
- Drink plenty of fluids and eat regularly.
- Access the bathroom if you are able to, rather than use a commode, if you need help to stay steady please let us know.
- If you need help getting out of bed, please ask for help - use your call bell.
How we will help you
Whilst you are in hospital, we will look at what you were able to do before being admitted to better understand how to support you and encourage you to keep moving.
- If you need glasses or hearing aids to help you communicate, please have them with you and know where they are located if you are not using them.
- Do you normally use a walking aid and you have not brought it to the hospital? Please let us know and we can loan you the equipment.
- Let clinical staff know if you have a hospital passport, as this will give us information about what support you require for physical activities.
- If you are unsure what you can safely do, please ask any clinical staff. Should it be required, we will complete an assessment to identify how you normally get around, and any risks that may affect you from moving on your own when you return home.
- Getting out of bed to sit in a chair and accessing the bathroom is really beneficial. We can help you with this.
“Do it yourself”
We will encourage you to “do it yourself” where you can. Including:
- Sitting up to eat and drink
- Washing and dressing yourself, wearing your own clothes.
- Brushing your own teeth and hair
- Keep changing your position, both in the chair and in bed.
Your inpatient stay
What to bring
It’s a good idea to bring the following items with you so you can be comfortable during your stay and clinical staff have the most up-to-date information about you.
Before leaving home, check that you have:
- Any medicines you take.
- Details of any community services you use, such as district nurses or social workers (this is to help us organise for your return home from hospital).
- Comfortable daytime clothes, including underwear and socks.
- Night clothes and dressing gown.
- Well-fitting footwear (flat, full shoe/slipper)
- Hairbrush or comb.
- Toiletries, including toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel (not soap bar) and items for shaving.
- Glasses, hearing aids and batteries, and dentures if you use them.
- Walking aids, if you use them.
- Mobile phone and charger
Some people like to bring tissues, ear plugs, a sleeping mask and items to keep them entertained such as reading books and magazines, and puzzle books. These can be very useful if you are going to spend some time in the hospital.
What not to bring
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust will not accept responsibility or liability for any lost or damaged patients’ property, under any circumstances, unless it is been handed in and signed for by a member of hospital staff. We strongly advise you do not bring the following items to our hospital wards:
- Valuables — jewellery, chequebooks or credit cards
- Large amounts of money. All of our facilities on site accept card payments.
- Large amounts of food
- Clothes other than those listed above
- Towels as this will be provided
- Alcohol or tobacco products
If there is an item you wish to keep safe and you need to leave the hospital ward for a test, please ask a nurse to take them. Our hospital staff will keep them somewhere safe.
Keeping active in hospital
Information for family, carer and visitors
When you have a loved one in hospital, it is important for them to keep as active as possible - and you can help when you visit.
To help your relative or friend to remain active, there are a number of things you can do, including encouraging and helping them to sit up out of bed, accessing the bathroom and getting dressed in own clothes rather than staying in hospital gown or nightwear during the day. This will help the person maintain a sense of independence and normality while they are away from home.
Here are some things you could bring from home which would be useful for your relative or friend if they do not already have them with them in hospital:
- Their own clothes (both day and nightwear)
- Well-fitting footwear (flat, full shoe/slipper)
- Hearing aids, glasses and dentures if needed
- Walking aids such as stick or crutches (labelled with name)
- Toiletries (labelled with name)
How to prevent hospital-related deconditioning
Get up, get dressed and get moving
When you are in hospital, staying in bed and not moving can affect your physical function and well-being. Bed rest and inactivity can lead to additional complications and losing the ability to do everyday tasks over a period of time, known as deconditioning syndrome. Many people experience this after a stay in hospital.
Did you know?
- People who move more in hospital are more likely to return home and require less support on discharge.
- While in hospital, people aged 65 years and over can spend up to 83% of their time in bed (source: Arora, 2018).
- 10 days of bed rest in hospital ages the muscles by the equivalent of 10 years in people over 80 years of age.
- Up to 65% of people aged 65 years and over can experience a decline in function during hospitalisation (source: British Geriatric Society, 2020).
- For the older person, regaining function can often take twice as long (source: Dolan and Holt, 2021).
Staying in bed and not moving can lead to other problems, and result in remaining in hospital for a longer time. This includes:
- Reduced independence with everyday tasks including washing and dressing.
- Loss of muscle mass and strength, which can cause a greater risk of falling, loss of confidence and further mobility problems.
- Increased risk of acquiring hospital infections, breakdown of your skin and further decline in health and well-being.
- Reduced appetite, poor digestion and constipation.
- Lose control of your bladder.
- Low self-esteem/mood.
- Becoming disorientated and confused.
Sources:
Arora, A. (2018) ‘#End PJ Paralysis: the revolutionary movement helping frail older people’ NHS England.
British Geriatric Society (2020) ‘Sit up, get dressed and keep moving!’ www.bgs.org.uk. Dolan, B. (2019) ‘Valuing 350,000 patients’ time’ NHS England.
Dolan, B. and Holt, L. (2023) ‘Deconditioning costs people their time, their independence and sometimes their lives’ Global Summit 2022 - End PJ Paralysis.
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