Physiotherapy on the weekends can help patients discharge faster, says study

Not all floors at Health Sciences North have physiotherapists working on the weekends. 

But a new study from researchers at the Sudbury hospital found access to physiotherapy seven days a week could help improve outcomes for elderly patients, and allow them to get discharged sooner.

The study comes as the provincial government passed Bill 7, a controversial piece of legislation that could force hospital patients awaiting long-term care into nursing homes not of their choosing on a temporary basis.

The provincial government has argued Bill 7 will put those patients where they can get the best care, and free up resources at overcrowded hospitals.

Dr. Dylan Falk, a family physician in Sudbury, and one of the study's authors, said interruptions in physiotherapy over the weekend can set elderly patients back in their recovery.

"This interruption will lead to deconditioning, increasing weakness, and will ultimately impair their discharge," he said.

For the study, the researchers monitored 41 patients at a northern Ontario hospital, and they found access to physiotherapy seven days a week did improve their outcomes.

"Additional weekend physiotherapy significantly improves elderly patients' physical function and gets them physically ready for discharge when medically stable," the study concluded. "This may significantly reduce the alternate level of care for patients."

Dr. Venkadesan Rajendran, a physiotherapist at Health Sciences North, and also one of the study's authors, said recruiting new physiotherapists is more challenging in the north than in southern Ontario.

But Rajendran added it has become easier to find new hires now, compared with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Hospitals actually have to look into hiring more physiotherapists appropriate for the patient level," he said.

 Rajendran said some floors at the hospital have one physiotherapist for 60 patients. 

"It is not possible to cover all those 60 patients," he said. "So they mainly deal with the discharge planning in those cases and prioritize the patient load."

He added hiring more physiotherapists is an inexpensive way to help alternate level of care (ALC) patients recover more rapidly and free up hospital beds.