Learning and education

South Tees has had a CCG commissioned falls service since 2007 and has had significant year on year growth in referral rates. Despite this, the team have operated on the same resource and the service had become reactive rather than proactive.

Proposed key outcomes of the review were: A mapping exercise of existing services against NICE guidance was used to identify areas for improvement which created an opportunity to review the current service with a view to develop a system-wide approach to falls prevention.

• Reduced falls and injuries
• A region-wide falls pathway
• Coordinated, individualised risk assessment and interventions
• Improved partnership working

With a national picture of a shortfall of qualified nurses and continued NHS cost improvements, Sheffield teaching hospitals wanted to test using Integrated wards to scope new models of healthcare for the future. Aiming to be cost efficient, whilst delivering high quality care to patients and creating an improved working environment for staff. The project looked for ways to share skills and work more closely between the therapy and nursing professions, to avoid duplication, deliver the care patients need in a timely way and optimise time for each Profession to give their expertise to the patients who need it.

Obesity is a growing problem in the UK affecting all areas of the NHS, with over a quarter of all adults falling into this category. The additional risks and co-mobidities that obesity is linked with leads to a high number of hospital admissions.

The multidisciplinary teams working with these people require appropriate knowledge and skills to deliver safe and effective care, with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2014) recommending that staff be appropriately trained to use specialist equipment when working with this complex group of people.

Research has shown that interprofessional team working can play an important part in improving patient safety. This report details the process an interprofessional team have undertaken to develop a simulated bariatric scenario as part of the learning materials that complement practical moving and handling sessions for undergraduate students.

The current paediatric population are not reaching targeted government's guidelines of physical activity. This can lead to serious implications to children's health and wellbeing. Furthermore children with chronic health conditions and/or impairments participate in activity less than the general population. Activity apps have been shown to support positive behavioural change. Although many apps exist, promoting physical activity, an opportunity to design an app inclusive and accessible for children with challenging health conditions and disabilities was identified. The aims of this study were:  

• To design an app that parents and children would use that promotes inclusive physical activity.
• To evaluate the feasibility of using the app.
• To use feedback and demand from users to make adjustments to app functionality prior to public release.

After assessment and /or review, young people in education settings are provided with physiotherapy programmes for activities, participation, and use of equipment. These activities are supervised by, or carried out by the school staff.

In the context of a special school, this information is described within the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and also classroom programmes.

The evaluation had two main aims: to assess the extent of implementation of the programmes, and to identify reasons why implementation may not have been carried out. The need for an evaluation arose from multi-agency discussions between the school management team and therapy staff.

To identify theories and strategies employed in early intervention physical therapy (EI) literature to engage parents in early intervention for babies with CP and evaluate what works, for whom and in what circumstances.

This review will inform the development of a larger NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship project exploring parental engagement in EI within the NHS with the aim of developing programme theory with practical application in this context.

Delivering additional training to build specialist skills within a workforce can be challenging due to time restraints, staff availability and other service demands. Working in a community trust brings additional challenges due to the dispersion of staff across a county.

Online training tools are frequently used as part of mandatory training but are not routinely developed by services for specialist use. Multiple online platforms are available to host such training tools for free. These could be utilised to build tailored training programmes on specialist topics, which could be accessed remotely by staff.

An online training tool for the use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in stroke rehabilitation was developed and evaluated as a pilot project.

There is emerging evidence to support pre-operative education for patients undergoing elective spinal surgery. However, there is currently limited evidence and agreement regarding the actual content of the information given to patients before lumbar fusion surgery.

Anecdotally, patients at Guy´s and St Thomas´ NHS trust have expressed dissatisfaction with a lack of clear and concise preoperative information regarding their surgery, expected prognosis and rehabilitation milestones.

In contrast, patients awaiting hip and knee surgery have spoken positively about the experience of attending specifically tailored pre-surgical hip and knee classes.

At present, we are unaware of what information patients would find most useful before undergoing fusion surgery.

The primary aim of this study was to determine the information needs of lumbar fusion patients in order to inform the content and delivery of a pre-operative spinal education (POSE).

A follow up study will assess the impact of a tailored class on length of hospital stay (LOHS)

To investigate the use of ESWT in advanced practitioner clinics for lower limb conditions (tendinopathies).

The orthopaedic department procured an ESWT machine for use in orthopaedic clinics. This lead to a project aimed at setting up a package of care for treating lower limb conditions. It involved the utilisation of AHP's in orthopaedic clinic to manage this difficult group of patients in an orthopaedic setting.

Explore Guy´s and St Thomas´ patient preference for educational content and delivery to improve provision of care for those referred to the advanced back class.