Staff from the Acute and Emergency Medicine Therapy Team
Our Acute and Emergency Medicine Therapy team now boasts a total of 20 therapists. Their aim is to provide highly skilled assessments and treatments to enable faster and safer decision making to facilitate discharges and prevent unnecessary admissions.
The team – which is the largest in the region – is made up of eight physiotherapists, eight occupational therapists and four technical instructors who work out of a variety of acute and emergency settings including ED, EAU 1 and 2 and the Frailty Unit.
They provide a seven day service, working from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, and 8.30am to 7pm Saturday and Sunday.
Significant investment was made in the team in 2017 following a successful pilot demonstrating the benefits of having senior therapists at the ‘front door’ to assess patients and facilitate safe and effective discharges. This investment has resulted in a much better patient experience, improved patient flow, earlier discharges and significant cost savings.
The team includes specialist in various areas including musculoskeletal – supporting a soft tissue clinic which was previously consultant led; acute medicine and frailty specialists – where the aim is to provide a multidisciplinary assessment and discharge focus for frail patients within 72 hours.
Physiotherapist Ikera Williams and OT Chelsea Hove engaging patients in a game of skittles on the Frailty Unit
John Scudder, Matron for ED said: “Having a robust physiotherapy service at the front door has allowed us to organise immediate assessments for patients who require mobility support as soon as they arrive. Having the ability to assess patients right at the beginning can lead to some patients going directly home from ED or the assessment units, preventing an unnecessary admission and improving their experience of our services.”
Acute and Emergency Medicine Therapy team reflect the innovative nature of the L&D and are a great example of how working together can benefit patients and make the hospital run more effectively.