Team who won price at BMJ awards

Patients admitted to intensive care often emerge with their lives intact but their expectations in ruins. At Glasgow Royal Infirmary, says Tara Quasim, half of those who had been working before admission were not working two years after discharge. Those who were unemployed or chronically sick after discharge had “an appalling quality of life” she says.

This inspired a rehabilitation programme for people of working age discharged from the ICU, called InS:PIRE – intensive care syndrome: promoting independence and return to employment. “In the area we’re in, there are a lot of manual labour and unskilled jobs, if after discharge you’ve got muscle weakness and joint pain, trying to find work is very difficult” says Quasim, a senior lecturer and honorary consultant in anaesthesia, critical care and pain medicine.

“Prisoners in Barlinnie Jail, just two miles away, get psychological services and vocational training, but in ICU we offer people nothing.” The hospital provides a five-week rehabilitation programme, open to patients and their carers. “It’s very informal, we talk to people about what happened, we set personal goals, and we refer them to the Citizens Advice Bureau and voluntary agencies.”

Launched with funding from the Health Foundation, the programme has now been given money from the Scottish Government for the next two years. “The overwhelming message from our patient and relatives is that InS:PIRE normalises their experiences and they feel better prepared to cope with the future” she says. 

First published: 13 May 2016

<< News & events