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Power Plate UK's Davide Ferreira and Stuart Stokes from ReferAll write to HCM
In a recent issue of HCM, Jamie Bunce, CEO of Inspired Villages, said his primary aim is to “focus on people’s health and wellbeing, for the greater good of our NHS, social care, society and most importantly the individual.” (HCM August 2020, p62)
With a shared sentiment, we have been actively supporting the aging population for decades, and more recently have seen growth in the UK healthcare sector – where statistics from Caring-UK indicate there are 456,000 elderly people in care. By 2030, this figure will rise to 730,000.
Forming a partnership with Berkley Care Group during the pandemic has proven to be highly effective, with residents from all six of the company’s care homes benefiting from gentle exercise, increased mobility, and general wellbeing using Power Plate’s Personal product.
Care workers can move the machine from room to room, making it accessible for less mobile residents and enabling staff and residents to counter the negative effects of inactivity on the human body, in a safe, effective manner.
Working in partnership with Berkley Care Group, we’ve developed a bespoke training programme to improve and maintain fitness and mobility in older adults, by stimulating natural reflexes, increasing muscle activation, and improving circulation.
We’ve also trained two members of staff at each property to use the product and key outcomes are being tracked over a 12-week period, to show how specific, evidence-based physical activity connects to key health benefits, as well as improving quality of life, independence, confidence and social interaction.
Davide Ferreira, Power Plate UK
Coronavirus has presented the health and wellbeing industry with greater challenges than it’s ever faced before. But we’re already seeing green shoots of positivity; this is especially evident for public health referral schemes.
Many of the 166 schemes using our software are reporting that referral rates from healthcare professionals, which were at an all-time high even before lockdown, are bouncing back remarkably quickly as the NHS seeks to improve the nation’s health.
Furthermore, there is a new challenge coming our way and we, as a sector, must be prepared to step up and offer support.
‘Long COVID’ is now officially recognised as a condition and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is developing guidelines for doctors in dealing with it.
The Zoe COVID Symptom Study has produced figures suggesting 10 per cent of people who contract COVID-19 remain unwell after three weeks and 5 per cent continue to be ill for months.
No one is better placed to take on this challenge than our industry – in particular referral scheme providers.
Rehabilitating our nation from COVID-19 is going to require a team effort and we should be leading the charge. The gov.uk website is already recommending ‘patients recovering from COVID-19 should speak to their GP about local care pathways for support and assessment of any long-term symptoms or health problems’ and the government has also created an online recovery portal.
Funding should follow and we must engage, not for the opportunistic chance of short-term funding, but as a long-term delivery partner. Scheme providers and operators that can help should begin getting their offer ready now; get long COVID rehab schemes up and running right away, so that we, as an industry, have something to offer the NHS ‘off the shelf’. This is our chance to make a difference.
