The worlds of high and low tech have joined forces to ensure babies and children can receive a much needed physiotherapy consultation in safety.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has implemented the Attend Anywhere video consultation service. Where patients can see and speak to their clinician as they receive assessments and reviews while at home.
Local children helped by Trust using dolls
Physiotherapist Karen Roach delivers an essential session to one-year-old Edie Hodgson by video consultation.
As well as the computer software, Karen also uses a doll to demonstrate various exercises
The doll is a means of showing patients how to position a small child when were doing our therapy.
It has moveable joints where we can actually position the child and get the baby to adopt some of the positions we want to use.
The attend anywhere software is good as it allows us to see the patients face-to-face, even when not in the same room as them.
It allows us to see what the child is doing at that moment in time and gives the parents the support to progress their childs skills.
So what does the user think of it?
[Meet Edie’s mum and dad, Abby and Dan.]
Abby: Yeah, it was different at first to get used to. But I definitely think it’s worthwhile and it’s been really helping us to keep progressing.
Dan: And to keep in touch.
Abby: Keeping in touch and giving us that reassurance. Obviously there’s people checking on her and showing us how to move forward with the next exercises for her which we’ve found really helpful – haven’t we?
Dan: Yep
Abby: She definitely seems to be making good progress each time and… umm.. I think the physio is a massive part of that. I definitely recommend it. I think especially, we don’t know how long this is going to go on for and to not have anything during this time would be a shame really when you’ve got people available to help.
This high tech solution has allowed patients to receive their care in safety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
But for the parents of children who need physiotherapy, how can a therapist explain a complex procedure for them to work on with their child?
This is where the low tech comes in.
Isobel Mason, from Billingham, is the mother-in-law of Trust Senior Clinical Professional Fiona Hardie. A keen needle crafter, Isobel kindly made five simple dolls, complete with sewn joints. The physiotherapist uses the doll to demonstrate the exercises which the patient can replicate with their child under their guidance.
Clinical Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist Karen Roach uses the dolls in her regular Attend Anywhere sessions with her clients.
Karen said: “Usually we work with children in their own homes. They respond better in their own surroundings but of course we have to limit that now. Even visiting while wearing PPE isn’t ideal because babies and children take a lot from facial cues. Wearing a mask limits our effectiveness.
“Attend Anywhere allows us to see our patients and provide the correct input for their care and the dolls are great for demonstration purposes. We can see and speak to the parents and their children. It works really well.
“The dolls are an essential part of our work now. We can show parents how to administer exercises or demonstrate how to move the child from laying down to a crawl position safely.
“Once the pandemic is over, we’ll still use the Attend Anywhere, perhaps for every other session. While it’ll never replace therapist-to-patient contact permanently, it’s definitely a massive help during this difficult time.”
One local couple who are benefiting from the video physiotherapy and demonstration dolls are Abby and Dan Hodgson from Yarm. The couple’s one-year-old daughter Edie had a difficult birth and requires regular physiotherapy to ensure her physical development.
Abby said: “It was different at first to get used to but I definitely think it’s worthwhile and it’s helping us keep on progressing her.
“It gives us the reassurance that someone is checking on her. Showing us how to move forward with the next exercise for her which we’ve found really helpful.”
Asked if she would recommend the video consultation system to other parents, Abby answered: “Yeah, I’d definitely recommend it. We don’t know how long all this is going to go on for. To not have anything in place would be a shame, not when you’ve got this here to help.”
Find out more about our secure Attend Anywhere video consultation services.