Plus-Size Patient Rehabilitation | CPD Webinar Summary
Promoting effective rehabilitation is crucial to supporting patients in their journey from hospital to home, yet for plus-size patients, there can still be unfortunate challenges that arise whether from stigmas, insufficient education, or unsuitable equipment provision.
Medstrom’s FREE, CPD-accredited webinar looks at plus-size rehabilitation from the perspectives of clinicians, researchers and the patient themselves. Seeking expertise and experience from three passionate speakers, they share solutions for supporting early mobilisation, as well as techniques and approaches that focus on person-centred care.
Supporting Staff Education for Effective Plus-Size Patient Rehabilitation
“At our hospital this really informed our bariatric care pathways and equipment bundles in that we developed pathways specifically around mobile and immobile patients.”
Dr Caz Hales works in the space of obesity care and explores patient and staff factors, and how it affects staff experiences and the care of patients of larger size. Alongside her experiences as clinician in ICU, this informs a lot of Dr Hales’ research.
Her presentation explores the obesity care evidence gap and spans numerous elements including timely access to equipment, efficiency of assessment tools, moving and handling based on patient experience and patient mobility. This extends to interviews that were conducted as part of the research and her findings on plus-size patient experiences of mobility and rehabilitation.
Overcoming Challenges with Plus-Size Patient Rehabilitation
“When someone comes in to hospital, we have a duty of care for them, no matter what size they are. If this includes, getting out of bed, access to toileting, a chair to sit in, then that should be exactly the same for our larger population.”
Emma Tarpey is a Senior Manual Handling Advisor and Chartered Physiotherapist and shares her experiences of working with plus-size patients and how using the most appropriate equipment is essential is supporting effective rehabilitation.
Emma’s presentation covers the need for rehabilitation, the associated challenges and how to overcome them. This includes reference to specific plus-size patient case studies, with an emphasis on bariatric equipment selection and improving staff knowledge.
Patient’s Perspective | Plus-Size Patient Experience in Healthcare
“We need to fit into those existing pathways [cardiovascular, orthopaedic etc.] but the equipment provision needs to be expanded so that everyone feels accommodated.”
Tracey has over 20 years’ experience working as a Bariatric Consultant and as a patient advocate for people of size. She works with staff, clients and students, offering advice and support to assist in the care provided for larger people. In this intimate and open discussion, Tracey shares her experiences of care within the healthcare sector and in particular her approach to rehabilitation of larger patients.
For more information about Medstrom’s unique range of bariatric equipment solutions, click here.
