‘Front door’ physiotherapy improves

‘Front door’ physiotherapy improves emergency department experience for patients

23rd July 2007

With the winter sports season upon us, an innovative project to speed up waiting times for physiotherapy treatment at Christchurch Hospital is good news for those injured on the rugby field or ski slopes.

The Front Door Physio project has earned the innovators a place in the finals of the 2007 New Zealand Health Innovation Awards (HIA). The project is a full-time physiotherapy service which has been set up in the emergency department of the hospital. Not only has it cut waiting times but it has increased the numbers of patients being treated.

Christchurch Hospital has the busiest accident and emergency department in Australasia, seeing 70,000 patients a year. In the past, patients often waited several hours to be seen, as the physiotherapist was based elsewhere in the hospital and had to be called down to the emergency department. This resulted in some patients leaving without seeing a physiotherapist and missing out on appropriate follow-up and necessary equipment.

Over six months in 2005, the pilot of the Front Door Physio project reduced waiting times between referral to being seen from several hours to 30 minutes for 95 percent of patients. The number of patients who left the emergency department without physiotherapy was halved from 32 percent to 16 percent. Staff surveys showed a 90 percent satisfaction rate with the new service.

Following these results, approval was given in 2006 to set up a full-time physiotherapy service in the emergency department and the orthopaedic outpatient department.

The Front Door Physio initiative is a finalist in the 2007 New Zealand Health Innovation Awards (HIA). It will be competing against 21 other finalists, five of which are also from the Canterbury region.

The HIA, a joint endeavour of the Ministry of Health and ACC, were started in 2003 and recognise individuals and organisations that have developed new and innovative approaches to delivering better health services.

Further information about the HIA is available online at http://www.healthinnovationawards.co.nz

This year’s HIA winners will be announced at the HIA expo and gala dinner held on 10 October at the Wellington Town Hall.

ENDS

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