Virtual Reality Experience For Ealing Patients
New technology to help manage pain and anxiety is trialled at Meadow House
Meadow House hospice in Ealing is pioneering virtual reality to help its patients.
The day hospice and 15-bed inpatient unit is located in the grounds of Ealing Hospital, and has been has been trialling the new tech headsets for the past month.
The service, which is managed by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, provides specialist palliative care and support to patients and their families in the London boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow.
Specialist nurse Jennifer Draper says it has been popular with both in-house and day patients offering ten seven minute virtual reality (VR) experiences including outer space, underwater and wildlife adventures.
Jennifer said: “It is primarily a distraction tool to help manage pain and has come from America where it has seen widespread use in tackling the opioid epidemic.
“It has a different use here but the distraction technique is still the same as many of our patients live with pain, despite medication. It relieves anxiety and aids relaxation and breathing.”
Patient Joy Pilgrim said: “I’ve been into space today, walked with penguins in the Arctic and seen the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian Pyramids.
“It’s a fantastic. I’ve never experienced virtual reality before and it just blew me away.”
Virtual reality already has several uses in medicine including patients being taken through their surgical procedure with a 360° VR reconstruction of their anatomy.
The technology has come from Cardiff based company Rescape
21 October 2019