The longer a patient stays in bed, the longer it could take them to get better and leave our hospitals...so next week our teams at CHFT are running CHFT Discharge Week. A host of activities are planned to spread awareness, and non-clinical colleagues can even wear their pyjamas to work on Wednesday in our PJ Paralysis day as we highlight the importance of getting out of those jim jams!

Discharge sister Gill Sutulic (pictured with some of the discharge co-ordinators), has been working with a group of colleagues to prepare for next week.

Gill said "We all know that if we stay in our pyjamas too long at home when we're poorly it doesn't make us feel better. Yes, we may need some tiime to relax, but it's only when we get up, washed and dressed and start to do normal day-to-day things that we really pick up.

"It's the same for our patients. We should be encouraging them to get up and dressed if they possibly can - after all, that's what they do at home. 

"But it's more than just getting up and dressed. Staying in bed for too long can cause health risks such as; muscle loss, risk of infections, low blood pressure and more. It can also result in patients become disoriented and may cause depression. 

Here's a brief run-down of what's happening:

• The team will be sharing key information at CHFT's nurse conference on Monday
• And similarly, placemats will be on patient tables so they can start to think about the sorts of questions they can ask us to help them leave us more quickly
• Wednesday 20 September is PJ Paralyis day. Non-clinical colleagues are encouraged to wear their PJs (no baby dolls please!) so patients and visitors might be prompted to ask them why they're not in uniform
• A number of local partners will be on site too, to highlight the importance of linking with local parters. They'll be in the main entrance at HRI on Tuesday 19th and at CRH on Wednesday 20th