Acute Medical Unit (AMU)
The acute assessment physiotherapy team covers all acute assessment wards, including AMU Red and Yellow Surgical Assessment, Short Stay Unit (SSU), Acute Cardiac Unit (ACU) and frailty wards.
Physiotherapists provide quality standard physical assessments to various medical diagnoses meeting the guidelines of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and also adheres to East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust values.
We provide the following assessments:
- Advice and support in regaining mobility and a safe level of function following a short illness, having an acute cardiac event, or post-cardiac surgery
- Appropriate exercises
- Walking aids to enable independence
- Facilitate early and safe discharge from the hospital, along with guidance on rehab beds or other community care settings
- Follow up community physiotherapy visits
A physiotherapist also assesses and treats patients admitted with respiratory problems and performs appropriate respiratory physiotherapy treatments. Physiotherapists on the frailty ward provide comprehensive, complex assessments to patients with multiple co-morbidities, advice on safe discharge, and support discharges with patient’s wishes and choices in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team.
Respiratory and Surgical
Physiotherapist’s work alongside occupational therapy and therapy support worker colleagues to provide person specific interventions to aid their mobility, cognition, function and respiratory health. Patients are assessed and supported to be safely discharged from hospital with the most appropriate support services and equipment provision.
Physiotherapists can support with breathlessness management, airway clearance techniques, as well as providing urgent chest physiotherapy interventions to deteriorating patients. Our physiotherapy team also provide a service to the emergency department (ED), paediatrics and maternity when required. Physiotherapists support other members of the multidisciplinary teams (MDT) to support the management of patients with new tracheostomies, and have a key role in the weaning and decannulation process. The team also provide regular education to the respiratory ward in order to best develop staff and improve patient care.
Orthopaedics
Orthopaedic therapists treat conditions related to the musculoskeletal system including bones and joints, as well as structures that enable movement such as ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves.
The orthopaedic department is comprised of three teams;
- 5B – Specialist neck of femur (NOF) fracture unit
- Treatment Centre – Elective hip and knee replacements, shoulder and elbow surgeries, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions and osteotomies, as well as trauma issues
- Outlier team – Trauma and orthopaedic patients admitted to any other ward, including Bluebell Ward and the paediatric unit
The main focus of orthopaedic therapy is to promote functional independence and enable patients to be safely discharged from hospital following their operation, equipped with the relevant information and exercise advice related to their surgery. Walking aids and other equipment can be issued as appropriate to ensure post op instructions (for example weight bearing status) are adhered to.
The orthopaedic team operate Monday to Saturday, facilitating weekend discharges as appropriate.
Stroke
Physiotherapists work with the stroke team to provide specialist assessments and rehabilitation for patients who are admitted with a suspected or confirmed stroke. We work closely with patients and their families to optimise recovery, quality of life and independence. Following an assessment, we make recommendations and referrals for ongoing rehabilitation, either in an alternative inpatient setting or in patients’ homes.
