Therapy in the area of the elderly frail can sometimes be challenging for both the therapy staff and the nursing staff. When it is done well and you reach a patients goal it can be so satisfying and fulfilling.
We would like to share with you a story which demonstrates innovative personalised touches that were put into place by two therapists Ryan Newton physiotherapist and Rebecca Brookes Occupational Therapist who work on Scotter Ward. Through their dedication they restored the confidence and self-esteem of a patient through using alternative therapy techniques.
The patient Tony had suffered a stroke and had lost some use of his right side. He was admitted to us for a period of rehabilitation. He was progressing but not to his full potential and was low in mood He had lost a lot of his confidence and self esteem. Ryan when he was undertaking his physiotherapy gained knowledge that he was an accomplished musician who had toured the country playing his flute clarinet and saxophone. This knowledge was not shared freely but Ryan, over the next week, managed to encourage the patient to get his wife to bring in one of his instrument. He enlisted the help of Becky the ward Occupational therapist when the clarinet came onto the ward as he knew she also played the clarinet.
It transpired through conversations with Becky that Tony was also a music teacher and his biggest fear was not that he wouldn’t walk again but that he would never be able to play his music again. Becky then included his clarinet playing in his plan of care which included using sitting balance with Ryan to ensure correct positioning for him to play the clarinet. At first she just got him to read the music looking at visual perception of reading music to enable him to scan from right to left. Because Becky knew music herself she was able to pitch the therapy at the right level so as not to be condescending to him. At first his fine motor functions of reading the music was to a high level but his cognition to motor function which enabled him to play did not meet this level which frustrated him but with working with Becky he managed to equal it. Becky also worked on duets with him of which challenged his visual perception to be able to read the music and skip lines too. He was soon playing recitals for us in the dayroom and was an extremely happy man when on the day of discharge he also walked out of the ward.
We invited Tony back to the ward for our Macmillan Coffee morning and there wasn't a dry eye in the house when he played not only his clarinet but his saxophone too.
We nominated Ryan and Rebecca for a unsung hero award at our trust celebrating success awards and were absolutely delighted when they won first prize. We think that this is a fabulous story demonstrating that the staff have looked behind the disease process and looked at the person and used personalised individualised care-planning and alternative therapy techniques to achieve goals for the patient restoring his confidence and self-esteem.