On a sunny afternoon in a neuro-rehabilitation ward at Orpington Hospital, 85-year-old Brian Heath sat in his wheelchair looking out of the window. Having been in hospital for months, Brian was looking forward to finally going home the following day.
The first Orpington patient to try out the new entertainment portal provided by King’s College Hospital Charity, Brian, wished the entertainment had been available throughout his long stay recovering from spinal injury.
“I’d always enjoyed good health,” Brian said. “Gardening, walking, you know. I was quite active. It changed so suddenly!”
“Last August I was in my office at home and bent down to pick up a piece of paper. I simply couldn’t get up again. After trying for some time, I had to just give up and stay on the floor. That’s where my wife found me, completely unable to move.
"At first we thought perhaps I’d had a heart attack or something, but the doctor said my spine was damaged. I asked what had caused it, learned it was simply age, ordinary wear and tear. But the damage was painful and paralysing.
"I was moved to King’s College Hospital for specialist treatment, first at Denmark Hill and then at Orpington Hospital nearer my home in Kent. I’ve been in one hospital or another all this time. I learned to accept it as part of life. It wasn’t easy though.”
The acceptance didn’t come straight away, however. Recovery and rehabilitation was slow, and in the early days after treatment Brian had to adjust to needing several people to help him go to the bathroom. It was particularly tough when visiting time ended and loved ones left.
“I was definitely bored and lonely at times. My wife comes often, and my daughter too. My son lives in France, but has also been over to see me. But it is hard when they have to go and I’m left on my own again. I can see this in other patients on the ward too. It’s really tough.
"My daughter set up a kind of TV system for me, but I found it confusing with all the wires, and gave up on it in the end. I enjoy reading, and have got through a lot of books during my stay in hospital. I would have loved to have had better access to entertainment, so I could watch TV or find a good film. It would have made such a difference.
While to say Brian is looking forward to going home would be a huge understatement, the life he is going back to is different from the one he left all those months ago.
“I’ve always enjoyed being independent. I’ve had to accept that life has changed. I’m lucky that my wife can help, and my daughter too. I might need more support too, I’m not sure. I hope not, because I like doing things myself. I’ve had great care here, the staff have been wonderful. But I can’t wait to go home now!”
With that, Brian tapped his way on the tablet to see if there was anything decent on Film Four to fill some time before the evening meal.
You can read more about benefits of the patient entertainment system here.
*Please note: catch-up TV/on demand services including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix, Disney+, Spotify and others will be accessible via the new system but only to those with pre-existing personal subscriptions.