NHS Charity Blue Skies Hospitals Fund has purchased a £12,181 piece of equipment to enhance ITU patient’s rehabilitation at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

The MOTOmed Letto 2 is an overbed upper and lower limb assisted cycling device, designed to enable early mobilisation of patients who are recovering from critical illness.

Nicky Williams, Critical Care Physiotherapy Practitioner and Rehab Lead, explains that the device will help mitigate the problems that patients may have in their recovery once they return home.

She said: “We know that critically ill patients can have lots of problems with loss of muscle mass, becoming extremely weak. If we can improve people’s muscle strength, we can improve their function, which means we have better outcomes when they’re leaving critical care.”

The device helps patients move their arms and legs passively, whilst they’re sedated, and actively, whilst they’re awake.

Current research has identified that early rehabilitation is key to improving physical function and reducing the impact of long-term issues.

The funding was provided by Blue Skies, the Trust’s charity, who work to enhance patient care in hospitals across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.

Head of Fundraising at Blue Skies, Kila Redfearn, is thrilled to see that the device is in place and supporting patient’s recovery.

“We’re incredibly proud to have funded the MOTOmed. It’s a fantastic piece of kit and is going to be so beneficial for many people. We’d like to thank our local community; without your generous donations we wouldn’t be able to fund things like this. Your support doesn’t go unnoticed.”

If you would like to support your local hospital, donations can be made at  https://bfwh.enthuse.com/donate#!/

Featured photograph shows Tom Glithero, Occupational Therapist, pictured using the device, alongside Nicky Williams