Hospital charity funds £17k worth of state-of-the-art feeding equipment for MND patients
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity has funded £17,000 worth of cutting-edge assistive technologies to give local residents with motor neurone disease (MND) greater independence, confidence, and control.
MND patients will benefit from a range of supportive equipment including a robotic feeding device from Neater, arm supports and rests, and MedPage pager switch systems.
The equipment can be used by patients being cared for in hospital, at home, or in a supported living setting.
MND patients lose hand function, which can make it difficult for them to use the standard communication devices to request assistance. The specialist pager switches allow MND patients to call a nurse, family member, or carer much more easily when they need assistance.
The functional weakness in patients’ upper limbs also impacts on their feeding ability, the charity highlights. Using feeding equipment can tailor the amount of support provided to a person when feeding.
The Neater feeding aid feeds MND patients robotically, so that they do not need a carer to fed them, giving them greater autonomy. As it is portable, the device can travel with MND patients when they are out and about for enhanced independence outside of their home.
Dr Malabika Ghosh, Clinical Specialist in Occupational Therapy for MND and Clinical Academic Fellow in the Lancashire and South Cumbria MND Care and Research Service, commented: “This equipment offers MND patients more independence in daily functions which ultimately provides wellbeing and a better quality of life.
“People with MND feel more confident in daily living activities, and their families can feel more supported in spending quality time with them with the equipment we can now offer. Having this fantastic equipment in-house, which can be loaned to patients, will enable us to provide more choices to our patients, reduce waiting times for equipment, and will improve the overall quality of service we provide.
“The MND team are grateful to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity and all its supporters for funding this equipment and we know it will make a real difference to local MND patients.”
The assistive devices were funded by the charity and grants from the Daniel’s and Houghton’s Charity and The Hospital Saturday Fund, alongside local community support.
MND patient Alan Towart said: “The Neater eater arm support has been brilliant. It has allowed me to continue with independence while eating, feeding myself and drinking from a cup.
“This allows the rest of the family to enjoy their meal alongside me without the need to feed me as well as themselves. I even take it along to pubs and restaurants as it is very easy to move from table to table.”