Paper butterflies a tribute to NHS staff

Paper butterflies take flight in tribute to NHS staff

Hundreds of stunning origami butterflies took flight at Leeds City Museum in a moving tribute to the remarkable efforts of frontline NHS workers in April.

Entitled What We Go Through Together, the poignant new display is made up of 600 carefully folded butterflies which were created by members of the Adult Critical Care team at LTHT.

Each individual butterfly featured a personal message from its creator, with the full collection being brought together by local artist Aimee Grundell, who used the butterfly as a symbol of transformation, re-birth and optimism. Catherine Balcombe, lead quality nurse for Adult Critical Care said: “The past two years have been incredibly difficult and emotionally challenging for everyone working on the front lines of the NHS. We have seen firsthand the toll Covid has taken on countless staff, patients, families and loved ones.

“This project has given us an important chance to use art as part of our own healing process and to express our sadness, solidarity and hope in a unique and beautiful way.” Staff made the butterflies during a ‘reset day’ programme, which was organised to help colleagues prioritise their own wellbeing after the enormous challenges they faced during the pandemic.

New Care Bags support patients in ED

In Spring the Learning Disability (LD) and Autism Team at LTHT introduced a Care Bags pilot to support patients with a Learning Disabilities and/or Autism who attend the Emergency Departments (ED).

The Care Bags, funded by a Leeds Hospitals Charity innovation grant, contain items that can reduce sensory stimulation and provide calming distraction and occupation for patients at any point during their patient journey. When a patient arrives at ED, if they have a Learning Disability or are Autistic they will be offered a Care Bag. People can self-identify or diagnoses will be seen through triage. Kathleen Smith, QI Clinician for the Learning Disability and Autism Team says we really see the value in this scheme: “We’ve worked closely with patients and colleagues to find the right materials to help our patients cope better with the ED environment. Just one month into the pilot and we are seeing results.” By the end of May: • 292 staff members working in ED had been trained • 16 new alerts were added to patients’ electronic records

• 7 patients had been referred to the LD team

Urgent Care Matron, Tom Ladlow said the Care Bags are a game-changer: “If we help patients remain calm during their wait, it’s much easier for our ED clinicians to effectively engage with them and diagnose the health issue they are facing.” One patient wrote to thank the LD team for the initiative: “An autism care bag! OMG! This is seriously amazing and helped so much. “I could rest. I felt loads calmer. My migraines didn’t get triggered by stress. I did not meltdown or shout. I didn’t get triggered when hearing unpleasant noises. I was occupied for periods of time so my relative could rest a bit more than usual.

“When I finally got seen, I COULD SPEAK. I wasn’t so exhausted, traumatised, or overwhelmed that I was non-verbal. I could describe what was happening. I could respond to questions. I could say what I needed to say. I COULD, instead of ‘couldn’t.”

Care bag contents: ear defenders; eye mask; stress ball; art colouring books; a fidget gadget and; EasyRead information.