Heartbeat July 2020

SLT bridge the gap between patients
and families
COVID-19
Our speech and language therapy
team (SLT) recently introduced the
card care project allowing patients to
be able to better communicate with
their loved ones.
The project which started shortly after the
COVID-19 outbreak has given patients
on our stroke ward the opportunity to
communicate with their friends and
families by sending them cards they have
created on the ward themselves.
“Many of our patients who are based on
the stroke and neurology rehabilitation
ward have either aphasia (language
difficulty) or dysarthria (speech difficulty).
This can make using technology such as
Facetime very challenging,” said Claudia
Forrest, Specialist Speech and Language
Therapist. “Knowing this, we knew we
had to come up with a more creative and
innovative way in which patients could
still effectively communicate with the
people who mean the most to them.”
After much deliberation, Lyne Wright,
Advanced Speech and Language
Keith Dickson is a patient on Newton 4
Ward at Sandwell who has benefited from
the project
Therapist came up with the card care concept.
It enables patients who struggle with using
gadgets to communicate to make cards to
send back home. Patients can take their time
and create what they want without feeling
rushed whilst at the same time engaging in
something positive to boost their wellbeing
whilst in hospital.
Though initially there were difficulties
helping patients make cards in PPE, after
careful planning and considerations in
regards to resources and entering COVID-19
red areas, the SLT team were able to get
past this.
Lyne believes making the cards has
benefited patients, their friends and families
massively. She said: “Since starting the
card care project our patients have been
motivated to engage in card making which
has given them a safe space to talk about
their feelings and families during these
difficult times.”
She added: “The feedback from families has
been very positive too. They have been very
happy to receive the cards and are pleased
to learn that their family members are
engaged in therapeutic tasks.”
Nicole Boden, Speech and Language
Therapy Assistant, thinks the card care
project has also improved patient care.
She told us: “The card making has allowed
those working on Newton 4 to learn a lot
more about our patients. It also means
we can better empathise with them and
improve their quality of care and experience
at the Trust.”
Care homes get refreshing delivery
One of the particular hot topics in
the media during the coronavirus
pandemic has been the treatment
of care homes. With the virus being
of particular danger to the more
elderly, care homes have come into
focus as a battleground in the war
against COVID-19. They have become
a social and political talking point at
a time when Public Health England
(PHE) was also looking to promote
carers within the community.
For our organisation, the relationship
between our hospital sites and the care
homes within our region is an important
one as we fight the disease. As part of
that, the Trust has been offering support
not just of vital Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE), which it has been
supplying in various ‘runs’ throughout the
pandemic but a number of other supplies
too at the same time.
Thanks to the generosity of the public
Andy Churm helps to distribute goodies to
care homes
and companies in the local area, something
that the Trust spotlighted across social media
during the NHS’s 72nd birthday celebrations,
part of the food and drink donated to the
Trust has been redistributed as a ‘pick me up’
for both colleagues and patients who may
be struggling with the difficulties that social
distancing brings.
“That we’re able to do this and share our
donations with those in the community that
need it is great,” said Amanda Winwood of
Your Trust Charity. “We know that there’s
vital work being done out there and a
difficult situation is being faced. By sending
some additional supplies along with the
PPE shows that not only are we thinking of
those patients in the care homes, but of our
colleagues there as well. Andy Churm and
his team will be delivering this load and more
in the days ahead that will help bring a little
ray of sunshine to the day of so many.”
“It’s great that we’re able to pick up all these
items for our care home and nursing home
colleagues and deliver them at the same
time as the PPE the Trust is supplying,” Andy
Churm told Heartbeat as he helped to load
up the transport. “They’ve both had a really
tough time with COVID-19 and whenever
we do these drops they’re really appreciative
of them and the donations that have been
made.”
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