Royal Hospital for Children holds conference on helping sick children get on the MOVE
Paediatric specialists in Glasgow who are helping children on life support machines to get mobile, will host a conference on the subject this week.
The hospitals’ Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) was one of the first in the UK to work with its patients – many of them on ventilators – and their families to embrace early movement. The Move on Ventilation Early (MoVE) programme was a year in the planning with the aim of tackling Intensive Care Unit (ICU) acquired weakness that can quickly affect seriously ill patients confined to a hospital bed.
Now an expert from the United States is joining NHSGGC colleagues for a conference at the Teaching and Learning Centre on the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital site. Professor Sapna Kudchadkar, Associate Professor of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Paediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore,where the project first started, will talk about her experiences of MoVE.
Nicola Fergusson Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist said: “Parents are now being given the opportunity to enjoy precious first time experiences with their seriously ill children as a result of this work at the RHC.
“This has led to families being able to share a number of key milestones. Parents have been able to spend time with their child outside for the first time or get their very first family photo where the child isn’t confined to bed. We want to learn more and spread the word in the UK about this fantastic work.”
In addition to having children moving sooner, the aim is for MoVE to lead to shorter stays on general wards once patients have been transferred from PICU due to a lower prevalence of ICU acquired weakness.
The Royal Hospital for Children adopted the MOVE programme last year after one of its lead physiotherapists attended a conference in Baltimore to learn more about the work hospitals in North America were doing in tackling ICU acquired weakness in children.
Nicola added: “Parents whose children have benefitted from MoVE say they see a big improvement in their children after taking part. The programme is also great for getting parents involved in their child’s care and are now carrying out more than 50% of the activities.”
As well as Professor Kudchadkar and several specialised RHC physios and nurses, the conference will also hear from Dr Barry Scholefield, Paediatric Intensive Care Consultant at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.