Local physiotherapy team supports patients in Ceredigion
The aim is to make sure people get the right care closer to, or within, their own homes whenever possible.
In this article, we hear from South Ceredigion Community Physiotherapist Kelly James about the local community physiotherapy service and how it helps local people like 28 year old Darren Williams, from Cardigan.
“The purpose of our service is to support patients on their discharge from hospital by providing rapid follow up and support and preventing hospital admissions or untimely admission to residential care through rehabilitation and advice.
“We offer rehabilitation including physical activity and education programmes for adults and young people with acute and chronic conditions. Rehabilitation programmes are designed to improve functional ability and minimise the effect of chronic disease and complications. Treating patients in their own home has many advantages and can be more convenient for our patients.
"The service operates from Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm, and is run by two teams, one in the north and the other in south Ceredigion. The south team is based at Cardigan Hospital."
Kelly continues: “We have four community physiotherapists in our Ceredigion team. We work closely with specialist therapy support workers and therapy and social care assistance to promote independence, support self management and improve quality of life.
"We assess our patients and then provide advice, education and treatment for patients with respiratory conditions, musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions, as well as neurological conditions, falls and mobility problems. We have a therapy room in Cardigan Hospital which is used by the community adult and paediatric physiotherapists and occupational therapists. By working together in this way we can ensure the smooth transfer of care from children’s to adult services.
“The south community physiotherapy team has redesigned and developed a purpose built therapy room as a neurological outpatient department. This means that our patients with long term neurological conditions such as MS, MND, Parkinson’s Disease or CVA (Stroke) can receive physiotherapy intervention under the guidance of the physiotherapist, using the appropriate equipment and apparatus.
"It allows patients to receive intervention to improve their functional ability – such as walking pattern, strength and balance - locally in a private setting with easy access and reducing the need for patients to travel."
Darren Williams, who lives in Cardigan, receives regular physiotherapy treatment at Cardigan Hospital.
In this article, we hear from South Ceredigion Community Physiotherapist Kelly James about the local community physiotherapy service and how it helps local people like 28 year old Darren Williams, from Cardigan.
“The purpose of our service is to support patients on their discharge from hospital by providing rapid follow up and support and preventing hospital admissions or untimely admission to residential care through rehabilitation and advice.
“We offer rehabilitation including physical activity and education programmes for adults and young people with acute and chronic conditions. Rehabilitation programmes are designed to improve functional ability and minimise the effect of chronic disease and complications. Treating patients in their own home has many advantages and can be more convenient for our patients.
"The service operates from Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm, and is run by two teams, one in the north and the other in south Ceredigion. The south team is based at Cardigan Hospital."
Kelly continues: “We have four community physiotherapists in our Ceredigion team. We work closely with specialist therapy support workers and therapy and social care assistance to promote independence, support self management and improve quality of life.
"We assess our patients and then provide advice, education and treatment for patients with respiratory conditions, musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions, as well as neurological conditions, falls and mobility problems. We have a therapy room in Cardigan Hospital which is used by the community adult and paediatric physiotherapists and occupational therapists. By working together in this way we can ensure the smooth transfer of care from children’s to adult services.
“The south community physiotherapy team has redesigned and developed a purpose built therapy room as a neurological outpatient department. This means that our patients with long term neurological conditions such as MS, MND, Parkinson’s Disease or CVA (Stroke) can receive physiotherapy intervention under the guidance of the physiotherapist, using the appropriate equipment and apparatus.
"It allows patients to receive intervention to improve their functional ability – such as walking pattern, strength and balance - locally in a private setting with easy access and reducing the need for patients to travel."
Darren Williams, who lives in Cardigan, receives regular physiotherapy treatment at Cardigan Hospital.
He said “I am really pleased with the service here and the staff are wonderful.
“It’s fantastic that I can come to the local physiotherapy team here in Cardigan Hospital once a week to get the care and support I need.”
Referrals to the service are received from Consultants, GPs, specialist nurses, and other members of the multidisciplinary team. The community physiotherapists can also refer patients to a range of other services, including hydrotherapy, the National Exercise Referral scheme, dietician, speech and language therapists, specialist physiotherapists, botulinum toxin injections for spasticity, and others.
The team also works closely with the wider multidisciplinary team largely based in Cardigan Hospital, including speech and language therapists, district nurses, podiatry, orthotics, and the south ceredigion integrated nursing team. They work closely with social care through the targeted intervention service and access equipment for patients in the community through the Integrated Community Equipment Stores.
Kelly said: “I am delighted to have this opportunity to tell people about our service and how we strive to support patients in our local community. I thoroughly love my job and I hope sharing some of what it’s about will help people to understand a bit more about what we do here in Ceredigion.”
Photos: Kelly James, Community Physiotherapist. Patient Darren Williams with Community Physiotherapist Kelly James and Specialist Therapy Support Worker June Morris.
“It’s fantastic that I can come to the local physiotherapy team here in Cardigan Hospital once a week to get the care and support I need.”
Referrals to the service are received from Consultants, GPs, specialist nurses, and other members of the multidisciplinary team. The community physiotherapists can also refer patients to a range of other services, including hydrotherapy, the National Exercise Referral scheme, dietician, speech and language therapists, specialist physiotherapists, botulinum toxin injections for spasticity, and others.
The team also works closely with the wider multidisciplinary team largely based in Cardigan Hospital, including speech and language therapists, district nurses, podiatry, orthotics, and the south ceredigion integrated nursing team. They work closely with social care through the targeted intervention service and access equipment for patients in the community through the Integrated Community Equipment Stores.
Kelly said: “I am delighted to have this opportunity to tell people about our service and how we strive to support patients in our local community. I thoroughly love my job and I hope sharing some of what it’s about will help people to understand a bit more about what we do here in Ceredigion.”
Photos: Kelly James, Community Physiotherapist. Patient Darren Williams with Community Physiotherapist Kelly James and Specialist Therapy Support Worker June Morris.
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