Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Restrictions for Inpatients with Aphasia and Associated Cognitive Dysfunction: Lessons Learned from Patient Detention
Edwin Eshun,
Killian Welch,
Hannah Britton,
Victoria Mayer,
Fay Morrice,
Charlotte Ogilvie,
Helen Page,
Jessie Pridmore,
Alasdair FitzGerald
Affiliations
Edwin Eshun
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, Edinburgh EH9 2HL, UK
Killian Welch
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Place, Edinburgh EH10 5HF, UK
Hannah Britton
School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Queen Margaret University Drive, Musselburgh EH21 6UU, UK
Victoria Mayer
Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, Edinburgh EH9 2HL, UK
Fay Morrice
Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, Edinburgh EH9 2HL, UK
Charlotte Ogilvie
Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, Edinburgh EH9 2HL, UK
Helen Page
Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, Edinburgh EH9 2HL, UK
Jessie Pridmore
Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, Edinburgh EH9 2HL, UK
Alasdair FitzGerald
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, Edinburgh EH9 2HL, UK
We describe two patients with a recent stroke or traumatic brain injury associated with aphasia and cognitive impairment who required detention (under the Mental Health Act) as well as some form of restraint during their inpatient rehabilitation. Each of these episodes of care occurred early into the COVID-19 pandemic and we speculate that the detention (and restraint) was attributable, at least in part, to the difficulty in comprehending COVID-19-related changes in patterns of staff interaction and the mandated social and visiting restrictions. We reflect on the impact of these restrictions on the need for detention and how these factors could have been mitigated through speech and language therapist (SLT) and broader multidisciplinary team (MDT) intervention.
