Silva S1, Fiztgerald A1, Kasanga N1
1Guy’s and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, @home service, London, United Kingdom
Background: Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) enhance capacity and capability within multi-professional teams. They help to enhance the multi-professional team and help to provide safe, accessible and high-quality care for patients. There is evidence that such new ways of working have inherent savings and help to bridge the workforce gaps. We initiated the modernisation of the @home service workforce with the implementation of the Advanced Practice (AP) Physiotherapy role.
Purpose: To introduce the AP Physiotherapist role in a hospital at home setting as a cost-effective way to expand the @home service capacity and improve team working and support.
Methods: For the implementation of the AP Physiotherapist role, 3 key principles were followed.
Workforce planning and governance - aim to move towards developing and planning a workforce that meets the local population needs and is able to work more flexibly across professional boundaries within a multi-professional team.
Accountability -physiotherapists will continue to hold professional responsibility and accountability for their practice while having new responsibilities and greater accountability. The professional support arrangements put in place are regular supervision by the Line Manager and mentorship by the service Practice Development Matron.
Education and development - formal study programmes (Advanced Assessment Skills For Non Medical Practitioners and Evidence Based Decision Making MSc modules, have been commissioned, alongside on the job opportunities for continuous professional development.
Results: The @home Service AP Physiotherapists have developed a specific skill set, such as: body systems. The development of integrated multiprofessional skills, permits the service's human resources to be used more efficiently: by the development of a seamless patients' care journey with reduction of duplication of assessments, home visits and staff face-to-face contacts. Furthermore, this workforce development is a positive way to maintain staff satisfaction. Finally, this initiative has contributed to improving the communication and effective collaboration between Nurses, Doctors, Pharmacists and Therapists within the @home service and therefore improve the patient's co-ordinated care.
Conclusion(s): The development of the AP Physiotherapist role within the @home service has been received with great enthusiasm and lead to positives changes in the team's dynamics and is associated with an optimization of the service workforce utilization and staff development and satisfaction. Further evaluation of the impact of the AP Physiotherapy role in the patients care would be needed.
Implications: The introduction of the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist role in a hospital at home setting has an effective contribution to the team's work patterns as it breaks down professional barriers and increases the quality and safety of patients' care. The development of AP Physiotherapy role will be opening new career opportunities, improving staff satisfaction and creating new learning and development opportunities for other staff.
Keywords: Advanced Clinical Practice, Physiotherapy, Hospital at home setting
Funding acknowledgements: None
Purpose: To introduce the AP Physiotherapist role in a hospital at home setting as a cost-effective way to expand the @home service capacity and improve team working and support.
Methods: For the implementation of the AP Physiotherapist role, 3 key principles were followed.
Workforce planning and governance - aim to move towards developing and planning a workforce that meets the local population needs and is able to work more flexibly across professional boundaries within a multi-professional team.
Accountability -physiotherapists will continue to hold professional responsibility and accountability for their practice while having new responsibilities and greater accountability. The professional support arrangements put in place are regular supervision by the Line Manager and mentorship by the service Practice Development Matron.
Education and development - formal study programmes (Advanced Assessment Skills For Non Medical Practitioners and Evidence Based Decision Making MSc modules, have been commissioned, alongside on the job opportunities for continuous professional development.
Results: The @home Service AP Physiotherapists have developed a specific skill set, such as: body systems. The development of integrated multiprofessional skills, permits the service's human resources to be used more efficiently: by the development of a seamless patients' care journey with reduction of duplication of assessments, home visits and staff face-to-face contacts. Furthermore, this workforce development is a positive way to maintain staff satisfaction. Finally, this initiative has contributed to improving the communication and effective collaboration between Nurses, Doctors, Pharmacists and Therapists within the @home service and therefore improve the patient's co-ordinated care.
Conclusion(s): The development of the AP Physiotherapist role within the @home service has been received with great enthusiasm and lead to positives changes in the team's dynamics and is associated with an optimization of the service workforce utilization and staff development and satisfaction. Further evaluation of the impact of the AP Physiotherapy role in the patients care would be needed.
Implications: The introduction of the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist role in a hospital at home setting has an effective contribution to the team's work patterns as it breaks down professional barriers and increases the quality and safety of patients' care. The development of AP Physiotherapy role will be opening new career opportunities, improving staff satisfaction and creating new learning and development opportunities for other staff.
Keywords: Advanced Clinical Practice, Physiotherapy, Hospital at home setting
Funding acknowledgements: None
Topic: Professional issues
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: Guy’s and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust,
Ethics committee: N/A
Reason not required: This piece of work is part of a service development iniciative.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
