Physios take on extra care roles
Emotional journey to help recovery
FRASER WILSON
Physiotherapists from NHS Lanarkshire have been praised for putting themselves in the line of fire during the coronavirus pandemic.
And that has led to additional training opportunities for others as the health service looks to ensure staff are as ready and as skilled as possible in the future.
The allied health professionals (AHP) volunteered to go above and beyond the line of duty, taking on additional responsibilities in the ICU (intensive care unit).
That saw them step into unfamiliar critical care roles throughout to help patients in the darkest of hours. And their boss couldn’t be more proud of their efforts.
Head of physiotherapy services for NHS Lanarkshire, Claire Rae, said her staff “faced up to the harsh emotional challenges of working in ICU as the virus escalated”.
She told the News: “I’m immensely proud of the team.
“Some colleagues were there as part of their normal duties, which include mobilisation of ventilated patients, for example, helping them to sit on the edge of the bed or move into a chair.
“Others were new to the ICU or only worked there as part of their on-call duties.”
Although respiratory specialist physios undertake duties in ICU regularly, a substantial number of non-specialist physios volunteered to help nursing and medical colleagues to treat patients critically unwell with COVID-19.
That saw them don full personal protective equipment to carry out their roles, helping patients at Hairmyres, Monklands and Wishaw hospitals.
Claire added: “The situation was even more challenging for them all due to the need to wear full PPE.
“Working alongside the ICU nursing and medical staff, physios took on 12-hour shifts which included duties which are more associated with nursing staff, such as monitoring patients and helping with their personal care.
“They all had appropriate training from both their physiotherapy and nursing colleagues, and it was a measure of their commitment that physios who normally work in areas such as orthopaedics or women’s services had no hesitation in joining their colleagues who regularly work in critical care.”
Orthopaedic physio Kathleen Longmuir hadn’t worked in ICU for 20 years when she went back into the challenging environment at Hairmyres.
Kathleen told us: “I was out of my comfort zone, but I felt I had the skills to help and we had some intensive training.
“Two decades on, some things remained familiar, including ‘proning’ - turning patients on to their stomachs to help with their oxygen levels.”
The 12-strong physio team carried out regular duties such as chest physio for patients needing their passages cleared, optimally positioning patients and “mobilising” them where it was appropriate.
“There was some initial anxiety at first, but we were there for a month, and it became a normal job for us,” added Kathleen.
“This was an emotional journey for us all, working with such severely ill patients, not knowing what the outcome would be.
“We felt invested in all the patients, particularly when we would read the information about their lives before this illness happened.
“We’re prepared to step up again if there is a second wave of cases.”
The physios have now stepped down from their additional ICU duties, but training is continuing to ensure physios are available to add to the staffing complement to help out, in the same way, should there be another rise in coronavirus cases.
As part of recovery after a physically traumatic experience, COVID-19 patients are treated by physios when they move to a ‘step-down ward’, as is anyone else treated in hospital for coronavirus.
Claire said: “Rehabilitation is essential at this point to get individuals back to their normal level of function.
“We’re changing our ways of working because many patients experience extreme fatigue postCOVID, which means we have to use shorter therapy sessions, more often.”