Annabelle's success story at Middleton St George
Read how consistent and thoughtful care allowed Annabelle to thrive during her time on the PICU at Middleton St George.
Annabelle made steady and meaningful progress during her admission. Within three weeks, her presentation improved enough for observations to be safely reduced, and shortly afterwards she moved from 2:1 to 1:1 support. Her progress enabled a timely transfer to a placement closer to home, with her overall length of stay being below expected PICU timeframes.
Successful discharge story at Middleton St George
Annabelle* was admitted to Chester Ward, our female PICU, struggling with a diagnoses of emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), autism, and mild intellectual disability.
She was admitted to the PICU at a time of significant distress and increased risk of self-harm and suicide, when the level of support needed to keep her safe could no longer be managed in the community. At this time they had to nurse her on 5:1 in order to maintain her own safety, as well as staff.
From admission the team took a thoughtful and person-centred approach, balancing safety with Annabelle’s need for calm, consistency, and a sense of control. She was supported by experienced staff who worked closely with her to reduce distress and manage risk, in a way that felt containing rather than overwhelming.
On admission staff also spoke with Annabelle, to find out what kinds of things helped her/made her feel safe. We found that having consistency helped, therefore staff would aim to allocate a smaller nursing team to take care of her during, so that the same staff would cover Annabelle’s SDN rather than a full team changeover every hour. This included people communicating clearly and ensuring that she understood the information and had enough time to respond/contribute.
She valued time with her key workers, so 1:1 time was allocated, recorded and handed over each shift. She also found family a good topic to talk about and having access to self-soothe items such as teddies and sensory toys helped. Having support with her daily routine was also important – she liked to get up at 9am, and engage in activities and play card games like UNO.
Annabelle made steady and meaningful progress during her admission. Within three weeks, her presentation improved enough for observations to be safely reduced, and shortly afterwards she moved from 2:1 to 1:1 support. Her care needs being recognised were a positive outcome at discharge, with the Care and Observation team highlighting it as a key success, evident within outcome measures.
*Name and image changed to protect identity