What does a physiotherapy assessment involve?
Finding out about your previous level of mobility from you and your family or carers.
Assessing your:
- strength
- balance
- ability to walk or transfer
- ability to use stairs, if necessary.
What will your Physiotherapist do?
- Help you to improve your strength, balance and fitness.
- Help you to be as independent as you can be.
- Provide mobility aids, if needed.
- Provide individual exercise programmes, as appropriate.
- Help you practise using stairs, if necessary.
- Help to plan your discharge from hospital, including advising on equipment you may need at home (a hoist, for example).
- Suggest services you may need in community when discharged from hospital.
Contact Information
- Your Physiotherapist will introduce themselves and give your their name.
- You can contact us between the hours of 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday on the ward telephone number.
What is expected of you?
Evidence has shown that patients who mobilise early during their hospital stay improve more quickly (Pashikanti, 2012), so it is advised that you participate as early as possible. Your Physiotherapist may suggest exercises to do in between your physiotherapy sessions. It is expected that you will aim to complete these every day. The rehabilitation diary on the following pages can be used to record the exercises you have done and track your progress.
To achieve the best possible outcome it is advisable to engage with the physiotherapy team and follow their advice, which may involve sitting out with help from the nursing staff on days when you are not seen directly by physiotherapy.
Planning your discharge from hospital
Your Physiotherapist will discuss your discharge plan with you and, with your permission, with your family and other members of the ward team. This will involve discussing problems you may have had before you were admitted to hospital and any concerns you may have regarding your discharge from hospital. A care planning meeting can be arranged with you and other people involved in your care to discuss any complex problems, as necessary.
If you will need support or rehabilitation when you go home, your Physiotherapist will liaise with the ward team to put any needed referrals in place.
Important
Please speak to your therapist if you have any problems with the exercises.
Please ask your Physiotherapist for a paper copy of this leaflet or download the resource using the button at the top of this page to access:
- Rehabilitation Plan
- Activity Diary
Reference
- Pashikanti, L. and Von Ah, D. (2012) ‘Impact of Early Mobilization Protocol on the Medical-Surgical Inpatient Population: An Integrated Review of Literature’, Clinical Nurse Specialist, 26 (2), pp. 87-94.