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Tribune News Network
Doha
THE Physiotherapy Department at Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI) has recorded more than 28,000 patient visits so far this year and the figure is expected to reach 30,000 by the end of December, an increase of 15 percent from last year’s recorded patient visits.
Al Madzhar Ahmadul, physiotherapy supervisor at QRI, said the increase in the number of patients requiring physiotherapy treatment highlights both an overall rise in the number of patients being cared for across HMC and also an increased demand for services focused on developing, maintaining and restoring movement and functional ability threatened by age, injury, disease, or environmental factors.
He said while the majority of patients cared for at the Physiotherapy Department include those with neuromuscular challenges resulting from stroke and other neurological diseases, about 30 percent are older adults, patients aged 70 years and above, with musculoskeletal impairments, including arthritis and joint pain.
“We also treat patients with progressive disorders of the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis and we see children with cerebral palsy, 14 years of age and above. Although the scope of physiotherapy services at QRI is mainly neurological and geriatric, we accommodate other patients, especially if the service they require is not offered in another HMC facility,” said Ahmadul.
Noora al Mudahka, chief of Physiotherapy, said the adherence of QRI’s physiotherapists to a structured stroke Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) has helped enhance effectiveness of post-acute stroke physical therapy. She notes that QRI’s results are comparable with international benchmarks, pointing out that since introducing the CPG the department has successfully rehabilitated thousands of stroke patients.
Ahmadul said the implementation of the stroke physical therapy CPG has been significant in terms of aiding clinical decision making and applying evidence-based treatment.
Follow-up workshops were also organised to train the staff to perform all the physiotherapy outcome measures included in the guideline and monitoring tools were developed to measure compliance to the standard. According to Ahmadul, implementation of the guideline has helped improve the role that physiotherapists play in the rehabilitation of stroke patients.
“Just like other members of the multi-disciplinary team, physical therapists play a major role in stroke rehabilitation. Commonly, stroke survivors requiring rehabilitation exhibit movement and mobility deficits such as turning, sitting, standing, and walking. This is where our expertise as physical therapists and movement scientists is valuable as we make use of specialised assessment tools, analyse relevant findings and formulate individualised plans of care,” said Ahmadul.
“If a patient is unable to perform a simple task such as standing, the task is broken down into easier-to-perform subtasks. We’d ask the patient to practice forward reaching during sitting, for example, as forward reaching is an initial component of standing,” Ahmadul pointed out.
Ahmadul noted that QRI’s advanced facilities, which include seven hydrotherapy pools, 11 advanced gyms, a specialist sensory room and an Assisted Living Unit in which patients can relearn simple daily tasks and readjust to life at home, make it one of the most impressive facilities of its kind in the region.
Doha
THE Physiotherapy Department at Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI) has recorded more than 28,000 patient visits so far this year and the figure is expected to reach 30,000 by the end of December, an increase of 15 percent from last year’s recorded patient visits.
Al Madzhar Ahmadul, physiotherapy supervisor at QRI, said the increase in the number of patients requiring physiotherapy treatment highlights both an overall rise in the number of patients being cared for across HMC and also an increased demand for services focused on developing, maintaining and restoring movement and functional ability threatened by age, injury, disease, or environmental factors.
He said while the majority of patients cared for at the Physiotherapy Department include those with neuromuscular challenges resulting from stroke and other neurological diseases, about 30 percent are older adults, patients aged 70 years and above, with musculoskeletal impairments, including arthritis and joint pain.
“We also treat patients with progressive disorders of the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis and we see children with cerebral palsy, 14 years of age and above. Although the scope of physiotherapy services at QRI is mainly neurological and geriatric, we accommodate other patients, especially if the service they require is not offered in another HMC facility,” said Ahmadul.
Noora al Mudahka, chief of Physiotherapy, said the adherence of QRI’s physiotherapists to a structured stroke Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) has helped enhance effectiveness of post-acute stroke physical therapy. She notes that QRI’s results are comparable with international benchmarks, pointing out that since introducing the CPG the department has successfully rehabilitated thousands of stroke patients.
Ahmadul said the implementation of the stroke physical therapy CPG has been significant in terms of aiding clinical decision making and applying evidence-based treatment.
Follow-up workshops were also organised to train the staff to perform all the physiotherapy outcome measures included in the guideline and monitoring tools were developed to measure compliance to the standard. According to Ahmadul, implementation of the guideline has helped improve the role that physiotherapists play in the rehabilitation of stroke patients.
“Just like other members of the multi-disciplinary team, physical therapists play a major role in stroke rehabilitation. Commonly, stroke survivors requiring rehabilitation exhibit movement and mobility deficits such as turning, sitting, standing, and walking. This is where our expertise as physical therapists and movement scientists is valuable as we make use of specialised assessment tools, analyse relevant findings and formulate individualised plans of care,” said Ahmadul.
“If a patient is unable to perform a simple task such as standing, the task is broken down into easier-to-perform subtasks. We’d ask the patient to practice forward reaching during sitting, for example, as forward reaching is an initial component of standing,” Ahmadul pointed out.
Ahmadul noted that QRI’s advanced facilities, which include seven hydrotherapy pools, 11 advanced gyms, a specialist sensory room and an Assisted Living Unit in which patients can relearn simple daily tasks and readjust to life at home, make it one of the most impressive facilities of its kind in the region.
