Inpatient Physiotherapy - Salford Royal

We have a large workforce of Physiotherapists and Therapy Assistants, who work as part of multi-disciplinary teams to provide comprehensive assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for inpatients.

The workforce is subdivided into specialist services covering all of the acute health care settings, including critical care and high dependency, general surgery, heart care, respiratory medicine, acute neurology, neurosurgery, stroke, major trauma, inpatient neurorehabilitation, orthopaedics, ageing and complex medicine and the emergency department. 

Departments covered by our physiotherapy teams

The Acute Neurology Unit is a busy specialist ward for complex neurology patients from the whole of Greater Manchester.  

We see a wide variety of patients admitted with neurological conditions, for example: 

  • Multiple Sclerosis 

  • Motor Neurone Disease

  • Guillain Barre Disease 

  • Functional Neurological Disorder 

  • Encephalitis

  • Parkinson’s Disease

  • Spinal Stroke

  • Myelitis 

We carry out thorough assessments and assist the Neurologists in their diagnostic process. We also offer advice regarding how each patient should transfer or mobilise.  This may involve specialist equipment or seating, provision of walking aids, splints and supports. 

Treatment plans are guided by the patients’ own goals and may include treatments such as: 

  • Exercise prescription 

  • Sensory stimulation

  • Gait re-education

  • Building exercise tolerance

  • Mirror therapy

  • Balance rehabilitation

  • Respiratory care and advice 

We also represent Physiotherapy in specialist clinics such as the Greater Manchester MND Care Centre and the Intrathecal Baclofen Pump clinic.

Our team of Physiotherapists work as part of an integrated multi-disciplinary team across Accident and Emergency and the Emergency Assessment Unit, providing cover from 8am-8pm Monday – Friday and 8am-4pm Saturday/Sunday.  

The therapists complete specialist therapy assessments/specialist neurological assessments / cognitive assessments, to identify a patient’s current physical, functional, cognitive and mobility deficits and to establish needs for discharge, on-going support and rehabilitation. The therapists focus to ensure patients are managed safely and effectively without admission wherever appropriate, linking closely with our community services for on-going therapy needs. 

The Ageing and Complex Medicine team provides an integrated therapy service to the acute geriatric medical wards in addition to cardiology, gastroenterology and the regional renal unit amongst others. All patients deemed appropriate by the multidisciplinary team (MDT), are referred for the appropriate specialist therapy assessment. Patients may be seen jointly by an OT and Physiotherapist or by just one discipline, dependent on their needs. Therapy input is directed towards maximising functional capacity in order to promote quality of life. 

The types of specialist assessments that may be required include: 

  • Functional mobility and transfers 

  • Activities of daily living (ADL) 

  • Cognition (e.g. attention, memory and concentration)

  • Mood (anxiety and low mood)

  • Chest / breathing problems

  • Continence

  • Feeding & nutrition

  • Seating, posture and pressure care needs

  • Wheelchairs 

The interventions and support for our patients may include: 

  • Education and advice for acute and long term condition and symptom management 

  • Acute rehabilitation to enable discharge from the hospital setting 

  • Onward referrals for relevant specialist intervention or rehabilitation

  • Issuing of equipment for home to improve independence and safety

  • Signposting for community services

  • Carer support 

Our philosophy is holistic, client-centred care. We work with our patients to help them achieve the maximum level of independence possible, and realise a timely and safe discharge from hospital.

We provide specialist input to the acute Major Trauma and Major Trauma Rehabilitation wards, working closely with the occupational therapists and the wider multidisciplinary team, to work towards common goals in line with patient wishes. We involve patients and families in their care, encouraging self -management of conditions or injuries and assist in supporting them emotionally through their journey.  

Our Role Involves: 

  • Specialist assessment and treatment of patients following simple and complex injuries. These can occur as a result of major trauma e.g. road traffic collision, falls or sporting accidents. 

  • Co-ordinating structured routines and encouraging early mobilisation of patients, in order to improve their overall outcomes. 

  • Delivering a wide range of treatment options, which can include respiratory care, exercise prescription, seating assessments, mobility and balance re-education.

  • Co-ordination of care based on individual needs, factoring in previous conditions such as lung disease, dementia, mental health conditions etc.

  • Prescribing and delivering education on the use of specialist equipment.

  • Assisting in the co-ordination of complex discharges from hospital and provision of onwards care with community rehabilitation teams. 

Types of Injuries: 

  • Our patient can be from 16 years upwards

  • Their injuries may include:

  • Single or multiple limb fractures, including the foot and hand 

  • Joint / ligament injuries 

  • Brain injuries 

  • Spinal cord injuries 

  • Rib fractures 

  • Spinal fractures 

  • Pelvic fractures 

The Neurosurgery therapy team specialises in the assessment and treatment of neurosurgical conditions such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, brain haemorrhage, brain and spinal cord tumours and planned (elective) spinal surgery.  

We assess and treat patients with neurological deficits, such as: 

  • Weakness 

  • Changes in sensation 

  • Co-ordination problems

  • Increased muscle activity

  • Balance

  • Communication or cognitive difficulties

  • Respiratory problems such as tracheostomy, chest infection or poor cough effort; 

In addition, the Neurosurgery team assess and treat critically ill patients within the Critical Care Unit (CCU). This may involve treatments to improve their chests and lungs while on a ventilator or to assist the patients to wean (come off) from the ventilator. As patients within the CCU improve medically, the therapy team will start early rehabilitation to promote their recovery. 

As the Neurosurgery service at Salford is a regional service, patients may be transferred to a hospital or community health care setting closer to home to continue their rehabilitation. This will usually be after a short period of recovery, when no further surgery is required.  

Our therapy team communicate with and support patients and family members through what can be a difficult and unpredictable time, working with the wider multi-disciplinary team towards patient-centred goals.  

Our Stroke Physiotherapists are part of a multi-professional team providing assessment and treatment for patients who have been admitted onto our hyperacute, acute and stroke rehabilitation units. Everyone who is admitted with a stroke is entitled to a therapy assessment within 24hours, and these are often completed jointly with an occupational therapist to ensure there is a holistic picture gathered of a person’s problems and to plan functional goal effectively. 

Rehabilitation will be designed based on the patient’s needs and initial assessments, and the team will work with the patient and their families to set specific rehabilitation goals. The physiotherapists will assess in detail how the stroke has affected the ability to move and treatment will aim to improve posture, balance, co-ordination, limb weakness and physical function. Specialist equipment, such as de-weighting treadmills and orthotics, can be used alongside neurological handling techniques to improve recovery. 

Therapy is an on-going process which continues throughout the day with all members of the ward team. The staff meet through daily board rounds to facilitate safe and timely planning of discharges from the hospital setting. If on-going therapy is required, the ward therapists will liaise with colleagues in Community Services to ensure there is an effective handover of care. 

Our Orthopaedic Physiotherapy team are responsible for looking after patients who have been admitted following either traumatic orthopaedic injuries or elective surgery. Assessment and treatment is designed to enhance recovery, commence rehabilitation as soon as the patient is able, promote independence and support patients to leave hospital as quickly and safely as possible.  

Patients requiring on-going physiotherapy on leaving the hospital may be discharged home with community physiotherapy support or transferred into Intermediate Care Unit, dependent on level of need. 

Our ward based therapy team of Physiotherapists work closely with our Occupational Therapists, Assistant Practitioners and Therapy Assistants as well as the wider multi-disciplinary professions such as Speech and Language Therapy, Dietetics, Nursing, Medics and Psychology. 

We provide specialist management for patients with complex neurological rehabilitation needs in the early stages of their recovery.  Each patient is different and the aims of rehabilitation may range from achieving basic physical abilities up to full integration back to all previous activity. 

The types of patients we see include: 

  • Acquired or traumatic brain injury 

  • Stroke 

  • Brain or spinal tumours 

  • Spinal cord injury

  • Spinal surgery

  • Neurological conditions e.g. Guillain Barre Disease 

We assess and treat patients with a neurological deficit which may include the following: 

  • Muscle weakness 

  • Sensory changes

  • Co-ordination problems

  • Reduced mobility / balance 

  • Prolonged disorder of consciousness

  • Cognitive difficulties

  • Respiratory problems such as tracheostomy, chest infection or poor cough effort 

We carry out thorough assessments and implement management plans and treatments guided by individual goals. This may involve specialist equipment or seating, provision of walking aids, splints and supports, exercise prescription, sensory stimulation, gait re-education, balance rehabilitation, respiratory care and advice, cognitive rehabilitation and functional task practice. 

Our Respiratory Physiotherapy Team work across both inpatient (critical care unit and wards) and outpatient settings.  

Our outpatient service offers assessment and treatment for patients with long term respiratory conditions such as bronchiectasis and hyperventilation syndrome.   

As an inpatient service, our Physiotherapists work across Critical Care, Medical High Care, Surgical High Care, Heart Care, Respiratory Care Wards and Surgical Care Wards. Our role is split into two main areas: respiratory care and rehabilitation. 

We provide specialist assessments for patients with both acute and chronic medical conditions, and deliver treatment and advice in order to support your medical recovery, reduce and manage respiratory symptoms and to facilitate your discharge out of hospital. We also work with patients pre-operatively, during their inpatient stay and follow them up after elective surgery in line with the enhanced recovery pathway. 

The aim of Physiotherapy is to help restore or maintain respiratory function, movement, strength, mobility and functional ability to patients who have had an illness, injury or surgery. Our Physiotherapists are committed to providing a service that is responsive to patient need, innovative and based on current evidence and research. In partnership with each patient, and/or their families or carers, they plan treatment to enhance an individual’s recovery and to ensure a timely, safe and successful discharge from hospital. 

 

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