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Physiotherapists at Chase Farm Hospital swapped the hospital’s clinic rooms for the sports hall of a local leisure centre as part of the team’s first community appointment day.
The event took place over two days in March with the aim of empowering patients to take ownership of their health and meet various community and health teams.
Two hundred patients who had self-referred to the service were provided with an hour-long slot to attend the event at Southbury Leisure Centre in Enfield, where they had a conversation with a physiotherapist, followed by an assessment.
Once finished, patients were then invited to speak to other teams about health issues, with dietitians, respiratory, long COVID, heart failure and bone health teams, among others, all having stalls in the hall.
Ryan Clarke, the physiotherapist who led the organisation of the event, said its aim was to provide high-quality patient care outside of a hospital setting.
“With a day like today, patients have the ability to access a number of different health and community services which would otherwise be separated in a hospital setting,” he said.
“One man spoke about having heart palpitations which he hadn’t done anything about, and was able to leave here today with some advice which will hopefully prevent something more serious developing later on.”
Alison Martyn, service manager for musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapy, also spoke about the benefits.
“We know that bringing patients into a healthcare environment makes them quite passive,” she said. “Bringing health to a community setting encourages patients to manage their own care and introduces them to a place like a leisure centre which they may not have engaged with before.”
The success of the event is evident in the attendance across both days. Typically, 10 to 20 per cent of the service’s patients would not attend their appointment. The community appointment day had a turnout of 95%.
“This will hopefully be beneficial towards our waiting list,” Ryan added. “Our number is currently above 2,000, and we saw over 200 patients in the two days, which is four times what we would have seen in the same time at Chase Farm Hospital.”
Kenneth Ibe was self-referred to the physiotherapy service by his GP after he fell from a ladder, injuring his knee and later developing arthritis.
“I was really positive about coming here as I am keen to get active again,” Kenneth said.
“My physio today explained everything clearly and gave me practical tips and explanations that I can take away.”
Following the event, all patients continue on a patient-initiated follow up pathway.
“We’re moving that control on to the patient, and similar days run in other trusts have shown a reduction in patients rebooking, or having less follow-up appointments, which we hope to see in our data in the coming weeks and months,” Alison said.
