The impact of increased weekend physiotherapy service provision in critical care: a mixed methods study.

Publisher: Informa Healthcare Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9015520 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1532-5040 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09593985 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Physiother Theory Pract Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: London : Informa Healthcare
Original Publication: London, UK ; Hillsdale, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, c1990-

After-Hours Care/*organization & administration ; Continuity of Patient Care/*organization & administration ; Critical Care/*organization & administration ; Delivery of Health Care/*organization & administration ; Personnel Staffing and Scheduling/*organization & administration ; Physical Therapists/*organization & administration ; Physical Therapy Modalities/*organization & administration ; Physical Therapy Specialty/*organization & administration; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Services Research ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mobility Limitation ; Musculoskeletal Diseases/physiopathology ; Musculoskeletal Diseases/therapy ; Nervous System Diseases/physiopathology ; Nervous System Diseases/therapy ; Postoperative Complications/physiopathology ; Postoperative Complications/therapy ; Quality Improvement/organization & administration ; Recovery of Function ; Respiratory Tract Diseases/physiopathology ; Respiratory Tract Diseases/therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Workload

Background: At the hospital studied, weekend physiotherapy (WEPT) is routinely provided and in 2013 WEPT was increased from one (PRE) to three (POST) physiotherapists (PTs) to cover intensive care and ward patients.
Aims: (1) To evaluate the impact of increased WEPT on patient volumes, treatments provided and conditions treated in critical care and wards; and (2) to understand the PTs' perspectives on the new coverage model.
Methods: A mixed methods design was utilized. The quantitative component consisted of retrospective document reviews of all weekend patients treated January 1-May 5 (PRE) and May 11-December 31 (POST). The qualitative component used a questionnaire to collect staff feedback. PRE-POST comparisons were conducted using χ(2) or Mann-Whitney U tests.
Results: Significant (p = 0.00) increases POST were seen in number of patients treated, number of mobility treatments provided and number of post-surgical patients seen in both clinical areas. The majority of survey respondents reported feeling adequately trained, but had concerns regarding the impact of increased WEPT on work-life balance.
Conclusion: PTs perceived enhanced service was beneficial for continuity of weekday care and improved patient function. Future studies need to focus on measuring the effect of increased weekend provision on outcomes, preventing complications and length of stay.

Keywords: Critical care; mobility; physiotherapy; staffing; weekend

Date Created: 20151016 Date Completed: 20160812 Latest Revision: 20151023

20231215

10.3109/09593985.2015.1060657

26467461