‘Really opened conversations with patients’: Olympics fever hits Townsville University Hospital PACU team

There is a serious case of Olympic fever at the Townsville University Hospital, and sports-mad nurses are delighted to see the competition’s effects on patients and visitors.

Townsville nurses have found themselves witnessing the powerful impact the Olympics Games has on people and used it to boost morale and positivity among patients.

The Townsville University Hospital post anaesthesia care unit (PACU) team have been going sports mad since the games kicked off, making homemade medals, posters, streamers, a live medal tally and flags to create an “uplifting” atmosphere in their unit.

Registered nurse Sarah Brown said the PACU loves to decorate their ward for all significant events - and the Olympics just happened to be one of the biggest.

“It has really opened conversations with patients,” Ms Brown said.

“They will see the decorations or the flags and start talking about the games or their heritage.”

Registered Nurses PACU Mackenzie Lamb and Sarah Brown embrace the Olympic spirit

Registered nurse Lisa Rickerby said the unit had received “a lot of positive comments” from visitors.

“The Paris games are one of the biggest talking points around the world,” Ms Rickerby said.

“We want to create an atmosphere that would uplift our patients and remind them that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Back in 2021 the hospital held its own ‘inter-ward’ competition to see which team could decorate best for the Tokyo Olympics.

Medical ward 2 won that trophy.

Originally published as ‘Really opened conversations with patients’: Olympics fever hits Townsville University Hospital PACU team