About Us
The Foulis Ward
Welcome to the Foulis Ward, this section consists of news, views and reviews.
The Foulis Ward at the Royal Brompton Hospital specialises in the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, where a collaborative approach is applied to best manage the disease. This team approach allows the ward to offer individual patients a holistic approach to their care.
2006 Dinner and Dance Presentation
Foulis Ward Cheque Presentation
(1st March 2007)
The ward is a 35 bedded ward (25 en-suite cubicles, two single sex three to four bedded bays and three private beds). Although Foulis is a respiratory ward, the majority of patients admitted have cystic fibrosis (CF). Cystic fibrosis is a life limiting disease with a median age of survival of about 36 years; consequently the majority of patients on Foulis are in their late teens to mid-forties. Unlike a lot of hospital wards the CF patients on Foulis return fairly regularly throughout their lives, with increasing admissions as they get older and their disease deteriorates. As a result of these repeated admissions the CF patients get to know Foulis ward and the staff very well.
Young adults with CF are encouraged to live as normal a life as possible; therefore the ward environment tries to reflect this. Unfortunately people with CF must not mix with each other because of cross infection risks. Every patient must stay in their own room throughout their admission and, as most admissions are a minimum of two weeks long, this can get very boring. Every effort is made to relieve this boredom with the hospital school providing teachers to work with those still at school or college – many A'Levels have been taken on the ward. The teachers also work with those who are not in education, encouraging them with projects to carry out on the ward or to try courses that may help with future employment. There is also a careers advisor who visits the ward regularly, an art teacher, a singing teacher and a reflexologist. The singing teacher and reflexologist are very popular and are funded by the SCT.
The SCT also fund lap-top computers which are used constantly throughout the day for a multitude of reasons - homework, college projects, work emails, internet banking, shopping and internet dating! In addition, the laptops allow patients to communicate with each other - not only through regular social networking sites but also through the ward blog.
Ward admissions are not the only contact patients with CF have with the Brompton CF Team, our care continues from the ward through to the community. The nurse specialists and physiotherapists visit patients in their home and maintain contact through emails or regular telephone calls. This service is particularly helpful for those who have recently been discharged from the ward to make sure they are recovering well, those who are on the lung transplant list or who may be approaching the end of their life and are too unwell to make the journey to the hospital, pregnant women and women who have just given birth, people who need lung function measurements or blood tests or have been taught a new form of treatment, and sometimes for those who just need some support and a friendly face. The SCT has also been helpful in supporting the outreach service by funding one of the members of staff who carry out the visits.
Life with CF is hard work, often boring and interferes with daily life, admissions and outreach are an inevitable part of clinical care. The CF team try hard to make a hospital or home visit as easy and helpful as possible, charities like the SCT have helped to make a difference to this.
Related Documents
intouch
Staff magazine for the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust guide
A guide to the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust
