Do You Offer Virtual Consultations?
Yes, we offer virtual (Skype/Zoom) consultations for our physiotherapy patients. This enables us to offer our expertise to patients who are unable to travel to our clinics in Sheen and Ham. These patients may have an initial 1 hour consultation with their physiotherapist in which we take a detailed history of the patient’s problem, carry out a full musculoskeletal assessment and treat the patient as appropriate. This could involve manual therapy such as massage, electrotherapy (ultrasound and interferential) acupuncture and manipulation or it may include rehabilitation exercises in our gym supervised by the physiotherapist.
Our physiotherapists can provide advice and treatment for many issues including neck and back pain, arthritis and sports injuries. We are also experienced in treating children with musculoskeletal problems, helping them get back to playing their favourite sport/activity and returning to school or college after an injury. All our physiotherapists are state registered chartered physiotherapists with years of experience in helping people move away from pain and discomfort towards a life with less limitations.
We believe that a personalised and integrated service is best for the person using physiotherapy. Having the flexibility of choice over how they consult and whether face-to-face or remote is used will ensure that the service meets their needs and preferences, whilst at the same time ensuring the quality of care remains high. In the future, it is likely that blended services will be the norm, with a focus on delivering high quality care in a way that supports the needs of the whole person and maximises their independence (Shaw S et al 2018).
Physiotherapy East Sheen – Do You Offer Virtual Consultations?
It is important that any remote consultation service is designed with a wide range of people using the service, including those with lived experience, to ensure that it is user-led and meets the diverse requirements of a changing health and social care population. This approach will be key to ensuring that the service is safe and works for all, including those with complex or sensitive health care needs (Thiyagarajan A et al 2020 and Greenhalgh T et al 2021).
A range of different technologies should be tested and evaluated to support a person-centered approach in a flexible way, to reduce inequalities in access and outcomes. It is essential that any service has a well-documented plan for integrating remote consultation into the overall Physiotherapy East Sheen service and for how this will be reviewed, refined and improved in response to experience and evidence.
Some people may not be comfortable with the use of remote consultation and may need extra support to use the service, for example a signposting service to help them find out what equipment is available in their area (Marques A et al 2022). People should also have the option of having a family member or carer present during a consultation, to reduce the risk that they are subjected to inappropriate or distressing content (Gilbert AW et al 2021).
Developing MSK physiotherapy services that incorporate remote consultation requires a flexible approach and ongoing learning from research and practice. A good starting point is the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s National Evaluation of remote physiotherapy services which provides guidance and resources on how to design and deliver a best-practice blended physiotherapy service.