PJ ParalysisPatients are getting out of their PJs and into their own clothes in an effort to end PJ Paralysis.  NMH has joined the international ‘#end PJ paralysis’ movement, starting with the inpatient ward at Wairau and Ward 9 at Nelson Hospital.

Patients are encouraged to get up and wear their own clothes, which has numerous benefits including faster recovery times, less risk of infection, improved mobility and less muscle weakening.  In short people are at their best when they are up and dressed.

Ward 9, Charge Nurse Manager Lynne Bary says a few years ago patients having hip or knee replacement surgery were admitted the day before their surgery and put straight in to their pyjamas.  Now they come in the day of their surgery and are encouraged to get up and dressed as soon as possible post operatively.

“Many of our patients come in well and we want to create an environment of wellness on the ward,” she says. “The evidence suggests that dressing patients in their own clothes is more dignifying, provides a sense of normality and allows them to be more independent while they’re in hospital.”

The need to bring in comfortable, loose fitting clothes is talked about with patients at their pre-admission appointment and is now considered ‘business as usual’ on the ward.

The Nelson Orthopaedic Department will collate the results of a survey on the patients’ hospital experience and will evaluate the role of hospital clothing on admission outcomes for patients undergoing joint replacements.