Improvements to Ashby ward at Lincoln County Hospital are progressing well, with a refurbished rehab gym now being used by patients and extra beds due to open very soon.
The work is part of a £900,000 expansion of the ward which is being increased from 12 to 18 beds to allow more patients to start their rehabilitation journeys quicker than ever before.
Upgrades to the gym and therapy room facilities are already complete, with two of the extra en-suite bedrooms now open. The final four beds are expected to be open by the end of the month, once building work is complete.
Ashby ward supports patients who have suffered brain injuries or who have other complex neurological issues and the refurbished gym offers a range of equipment to help people back on the road to recovery.
In addition to exercise bikes, walking frames, parallel bars and arm supports, the gym also now includes a multi-directional ceiling-mounted tracking hoist, which fully supports patients who are learning to walk again.
Sue Williams, Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist on the ward said: “As part of the ongoing expansion of Ashby ward, we’ve relocated the gym and from November it will be open seven-days-a-week for supported therapy sessions for patients.
“We have a range of therapy equipment, which help patients through supported standing to aid their balance and we also have mobile arm supports for upper limb rehabilitation and arm strengthening.”
Patients on the ward usually spend around an hour at a time in the gym, supported by qualified staff throughout their physiotherapy programme.
Keith Jones (aged 75), has been a patient on Ashby for the past two months after being diagnosed with a lymphoma on the spine and losing the feeling in his legs.
He said that regular sessions in the gym along with help from the ward staff, have gradually built his confidence back up.
“When you can’t move, it’s a really frightening thing. But gradually with exercise and with the gym hoist to keep you secure, it starts to give you confidence,” said Keith.
“The gym is excellent, it has everything you need in there and combined with the tremendous support from the staff, really keeps you going.
“It’s a daunting prospect but you can see improvements with the exercises every day and start to map out what you can do.”