Supporters help transform patient recovery with new critical care chairs

Thanks to generous donations from our supporters, we have been able to fund six chairs which greatly impact patient experiences and outcomes in our Critical Care department.

Getting patients out of bed as early as possible during their critical care admission, and then on a daily basis, is absolutely vital. It supports their respiratory function, musculoskeletal system, and overall wellbeing, and forms an essential part of their rehabilitation journey.

Before receiving these chairs, the team were working with an inadequate number of suitable options for their patients, and some of the chairs were not fully functional. On occasions this meant placing patients in basic wooden chairs, which were far from ideal for their complex needs.

David Rowe, a senior specialist physiotherapist, explained: “Having access to the right chair for each individual is key, which is why we need a range of specialist chairs to cater for different shapes, sizes and functional needs.

“The new chairs make a huge difference. Three of them can even recline fully into a flat position, meaning patients can be comfortably and safely transferred straight from bed into the chair before it is returned to an upright position.

“This not only enables us to get patients sitting out of bed much earlier in their admission but also gives them the best possible chance of recovery. Ultimately, this improvement in care helps to support rehabilitation and can even reduce the length of a patient’s stay in hospital.”