P252 Physiotherapy services in axial spondyloarthritis in the North West of England. An ASSIGNw benchmarking survey

Autor: William J Gregory, Jane Brazendale, Carol Greenall, Gary McCall
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Rheumatology. 61
ISSN: 1462-0332
1462-0324
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac133.251
Popis: Background/Aims The physiotherapist's role in the assessment and management of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is evolving. The axSpA Specialist Interest Group North-West (ASSIGNw) surveyed practices of its members in 2016. This abstract reports on a 5-year follow-up survey, exploring how our North-West physiotherapy axSpA services are running following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to benchmark practice of physiotherapists working with axSpA, identifying discrepancies between services and recommending ways forward. Methods In June 2021, members of ASSIGNw identified areas of practice to benchmark; questions were formulated to elucidate these, creating a SmartSurveyTM sent to ASSIGNw members August-September 2021. Results Sixteen Trusts replied, two more than the 2016 survey. Ratios of physiotherapy:medical staffing range from 1:1 to 1:8. All centres intended to offer virtual appointments as a long-term option. The majority of centres (60%) offered yearly follow up; 40% offered 6-monthly follow up. The median appointment duration had reduced from 45 minutes in 2016 to 30 minutes in 2021. The number of centres offering 60 minute slots reduced from 36% in 2016 to 20% in 2021. The vast majority of consults were undertaken independently by the physiotherapist (86%), a small number offering combined appointments with medical colleagues (7.1%). Half of centres surveyed had no access to onsite hydrotherapy, most of these actively signpost to local pools for self-led water-based exercise (62.5%). A dedicated flare/emergency access service was not offered by 60% of centres. Most centres undertake patient education on a one-to-one basis (94%); formal axSpA education programmes are only offered in one centre surveyed. Conclusion This survey, as in 2016, has highlighted a large inter-trust variation in physiotherapy:medic staffing ratio. A broad collection of outcome measures was collected and there is an unchanged general consensus that the BASMI and BASDAI are essential. The average and maximum appointment durations have both reduced. Urgent/flare and hydrotherapy access remains limited. Formal patient education is yet to be adopted, one-to-one education remains the prevalent model. Further work on standardising axSpA physiotherapy-led services is warranted. As we drive forwards best-care, the enhanced use of the full rheumatology multi-disciplinary team and standardisation of staffing levels is recommended. Disclosure W.J. Gregory: Honoraria; WG has received honoraria from Abbvie, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB. J. Brazendale: None. C. Greenall: None. G. McCall: None.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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