Physios help COVID patients return home
Physiotherapists in Oban are helping get COVID-19 patients back home with their families
Derek Laidler, who has recovered from COVID-19 himself and is back at work as physiotherapist lead at Lorn and Islands Hospital, says his team are another link in the NHS chain working hard to get virus patients on the road to recovery and reunited with loved ones.
‘We must remember that almost everyone who gets the virus will recover, very few will need hospital treatment and of those who do almost all of them will get better, they will go home to their families again, and we are working hard to ensure we can help that happen as quickly and as smoothly as possible,’ said Mr Laidler.
But he is also warning a lot of extra work is expected once coronavirus restrictions are lifted so they can catch up with other people having to wait for physio help. His team are ‘grateful’ for their patience, he says. Inside the hospital, physiotherapists are working directly with COVID-19 patients to help with breathing and with energy-saving techniques to help them get better and, together with colleagues
Physiotherapy lead Derek Laidler is back at work after recovering from COVID-19.
from Occupational Therapy, concentrate on getting them home once recovered.
Because of coronavirus, the hospital’s physiotherapy service has had to change the way it deals with patients, but they are doing their best to make sure everybody gets the care they need, said Mr Laidler, whose wife has also returned to work at the hospital after recovering from the virus.
Staff are minimising faceto-face contact and instead are contacting their patients by phone to discuss their problems and give exercise programmes based on the information they can gather.
Because it is such a hands-on profession, needing physical contact to check the movement of the patient, social-distancing creates great challenges for the physiotherapist, said Mr Laidler.
‘We anticipate a lot of additional work once all of the restrictions are lifted to ensure we can catch up with everyone who needs our services and we are grateful for the patience of everyone waiting to see us,’ he added.
The gestures of wellwishers and those such as Glensanda Quarry donating much-needed PPE has touched the physiotherapists who are ‘humbled’ by the public’s response and by those helping in any way they can.
‘Hearing everyone clapping and playing pipes on a Thursday is also a huge boost for all key workers,’ said Mr Laidler, who is also hoping people who are now out exercising regularly will keep it up long after lockdown as an ‘essential part of long life’.