Honorary Professor named as one of most influential people in history of NHS
Friday 15 June 2018
AN HONORARY professor at the University of Salford has been named as one of the most influential people in the history of the NHS.
Brian Dolan,founder of the End PJ Paralysis Movement aimed at enabling people to lead fuller lives by reducing unnecessary stays in hospital, has been named as number 14 in the Health And Care Top 70 Stars poll.
The NHS Confederation compiled the list of health and care staff who have gone over and above the call of duty to mark the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service, based on nominations from patients, staff and members of the public.
Professor Dolan, Honorary Professor of Leadership in Healthcare at the University of Salford, founded the movement in 2016 encouraging patients to change from their pyjamas into everyday clothes and get up and moving around.
The campaign was based on the idea that wearing pyjamas or hospital gowns reinforces patients feeling unwell, can prevent a speedy recovery and encourages people to spend more time in hospital than is clinically necessary.
Decade of muscle loss
He cites evidence that 60 per cent of immobile patients have no clinical reason requiring bed rest and says 10 days of bed rest in patients over 80 years old can lead to a decade’s worth of muscle loss.
The campaign has built up momentum within the NHS, with Chief Nursing Officer Professor Jane Cummings recently encouraging staff across the country to achieve one million patient days of older patients being dressed in their own clothes over a 70-day period.
Hospitals across the country including Salford Royal have got behind the campaign, and Professor Dolan appeared alongside Professor Cummins and other NHS leaders at last week’s Valuing Patient Time Conference, organised by the University of Salford to look into how small schemes like this can have a huge impact on patient outcomes.
Making a difference
Professor Dolan said: “It’s an enormous honour for me as an NHS trained nurse and someone who’s passionate about valuing patients’ time as the most important currency in healthcare. The success of the campaign sends out a message that it is possible to make a difference – whether you’re a healthcare assistant of a director of nursing.
“This is about changing the conversation within the health service and it also has a huge impact on staff wellbeing, as when patients are happy then staff are happy.”
As one of the leading universities providing nurse education in the North West we are proud to include this innovation thinking and research as part of our work.
Margaret Rowe, Dean of the University of Salford’s School of Health and Society, said: “The End PJ Paralysis campaign is a great example of how a simple idea can have a huge impact, not just on the lives of individual patients, but on how the NHS operates. This kind of innovative thinking is exactly what the health service needs in order to transform and meet the needs of an ageing population.
“As one of the leading universities providing nurse education in the North West we are proud to include this innovation thinking and research as part of our work. Brian’s inspirational work is shared with our students and this is having a daily impact on the patients they care for, with the School of Heath and Society making a difference each and every day to the health and wellbeing of people in Greater Manchester and beyond.”
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