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Private physiotherapy for aged care - getting residents back on their feet

on Friday, March 28, 2014

Physiotherapy in aged care is no new phenomenon, with many facilities offering the service as an extra feature, like hairdressing or optometry.

The role these physiotherapists perform is essential for the safe manual handling of residents to ensure mobility care needs are met, and also to assist in the pain management of those residents with chronic conditions.

But physiotherapist Kirsty Larkworthy thinks more can be done to improve the mobility of older people living in care.

Ms Larkworthy runs ACP - Aged Care Physio, a private rehabilitation service provider operating in aged care facilities in Melbourne’s south-east and bayside suburbs.

In her six years working as an aged care physiotherapist for a large health group, Ms Larkworthy fell in love with the industry but felt restricted in her capacity to make a true difference to people’s lives.

The regulative and prescriptive nature of the current model only allowed for abridged consultations providing more basic treatments. Ms Larkworthy felt she needed more one-on-one time with the residents to assist them achieve their mobility goals.

She said the rehabilitation process should not be rushed, because people who have had surgery, illness or an adverse incident like a fall, are in a tender position both physically and emotionally.

“Residents can often find themselves at a crossroads in terms of their mobility after such events. With an intensive burst of individualised, mobility therapy, most, if not all residents can regain their pre-illness level of mobility,” she said.

“They need time and a specific program in which the demands are progressively increased as they improve - It is a true delight to watch their confidence grow.”

Her specialised form of physiotherapy is about restoring self-confidence as well as physical strength and mobility.

This means listening to the resident, as well as instructing actual exercise and hands-on treatment.

 “Aged Care Physio is about thinking beyond accreditation and compliance and providing a dedicated rehabilitation service to get people back on their feet,” she said.

Ms Larkworthy is also a firm believer that staying mobile improves a person’s overall wellbeing.

 “Mobility equals health. People who walk maintain their other functions, from their digestive system to their happiness and cognitive ability.

“Depression is a well-reported issue in aged care. A loss of independence in mobility can be a trigger.

“Our philosophy is that an adverse incident such as a fall does not have to cause this trigger.”

The current shift towards consumer-directed care, which will see aged care providers billing their clients separately for extra-services from July, means initiatives like ACP - Aged Care Physio will demand a strong presence in the market.

With a whole generation of baby-boomers creeping into the age bracket requiring care, the demand for quality rehabilitative physiotherapy is particularly strident.

“Currently in aged care there are a lot of people born in the 20s and 30s who have lived through the war and depression, many of whom have never seen a physio in their life.

“For baby boomers, seeing a physio is more the norm and they will expect it to be readily available.”

Ms Larkworthy founded her business to meet these expectations, and she has at least one good reason for doing so:

 “I want to know that if my mum has a hip replacement the services are in place to get her back on her feet.”

Clients do not need a referral from their GP, they can express their concerns directly to Aged Care Physio.

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