Since 2019, the nursing profession has been frequently represented in mainstream media in the UK through the lenses of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently, industrial action. In 2020, during COVID, we saw the nursing profession praised, with weekly neighbourhood applause and thanks to the National Health Service (NHS) staff schemes. In 2023, when, for the first time in history nurses voted to strike (fair pay for nursing), nurses again received media attention. Conversely, the media chose to report how striking nurses (and other health professional staff) contributed to long waiting lists in the NHS and unhelpfully, demonstrated how 64% of poll voters (n=7955) did not think nurses should have a better pay deal.
Commentary on: Murooka Y, Sasabuchi Y, Takazawa T, Matsui H, Yasunaga H, Saito S. Long-Term Prognosis Following Early Rehabilitation in the ICU: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Crit Care Med. 2023 Mar 29. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005862. Epub ahead of print.
Rehabilitation programmes if introduced early after admissions to intensive care unit could be beneficial to patients and healthcare systems. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the long-term impacts of early introduction of rehabilitation programmes on healthcare outcomes in terms of, quality of life and physical functions, the optimal timing, duration, and intensity of rehabilitation.
Early rehabilitation is a promising treatment for postintensive care syndrome. Studies have demonstrated the benefits of rehabilitation, such as early exercise and mobilisation, which improve short-term physical and functional outcomes and reduce intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay durations for critically ill patients.
Commentary on: Cuzco C, Castro P, Marín Pérez R, Ruiz García S, Núñez Delgado AI, Romero García M, Martínez Momblan MA, Benito Aracil L, Carmona Delgado I, Canalias Reverter M, Nicolás JM, Martínez Estalella G, Delgado-Hito P. Impact of a Nurse-Driven Patient Empowerment Intervention on the Reduction in Patients' Anxiety and Depression During ICU Discharge: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Crit Care Med. 2022 Dec 1;50(12):1757-1767. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005676. Epub 2022 Sep 30.
Critical care nurses are advised to implement a nurse-driven patient empowerment intervention (NEI) in their daily practice to aid discharged patients. The long-term effects of NEI on patients with varying diseases need further evaluation.
Several studies have indicated that a significant proportion of patients who have been admitted or discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU) experienced high levels of anxiety and depression.