Shaping and Facilitating the Road to Recovery - Incorporating Physiotherapists in A&E

Abstract

To review the effectiveness of early diagnosis and rehabilitation in the department of emergencies and accidents,
inclusion of rehabilitative team in the team of emergency department. The physiotherapists, as a first contact
practitioners would help in yielding good patient outcomes and improve patient flow along with early diagnosis
and early incorporation of rehabilitation in the emergency departments of any health care establishments.
Participants had to be the patients appearing in the A&E department with any musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary,
neurological condition requiring emergency attention. Data were extracted from 15 articles from PubMed,
Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PEDRO, Research Gate and Science Direct. Included studies were published
in between 2015 and 2021.When compared to patients treated using standard care procedures, those seen by
the primary contact physiotherapist (PCP) had significantly shorter wait time for treatment, rehabilitation and
for the first dose of analgesia. Both the A&E team and the patients were well satisfied by the incorporation of
physiotherapist in the department. Patients who first saw a doctor and subsequently a physiotherapist (secondary
contact model) had a longer length of stay than patients who got other types of care. More than 95% of patients
who received care from a physiotherapist in A&E were happy with the way their illness was being managed,
understood their guidance and were satisfied with the provided discharge information. It offered them enough
time to complete any necessary follow-up care. This study offers helpful insights and recommendations to
incorporate physical therapist in accident and emergency departments, and implementation of the same in terms
of patient result and experience, as well as staff experience. In a complex, high-demand workplace, Accident
& Emergency Department, incorporation of physiotherapy may increase patient flow and the effectiveness of
clinical skill utilization and faster delivery of the treatment.