Author: Ollie Cowan

Changes hospital physiotherapists made to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic are now shaping the future of the care they give.

The Joint Health Team at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust turned to video conferencing, YouTube and other online methods to help treat and advise patients throughout the lock-down.

The team provides specialist assessment, investigations and treatment for patients across Southport, Formby and West Lancashire with musculoskeletal conditions (problems with muscles, joints or spine). But because of the pandemic, they were unable to see patients in the usual way, despite their services being essential for many.

The service, which includes specialist physiotherapy consultant, specialist doctors and consultants in musculoskeletal medicine, specialist physiotherapists, advanced practice physiotherapists, and podiatrists and specialist occupational hand therapist, looked to other ways to help their patients.

With some staff redeployed, remaining team members dug out their devices and took to the internet to provide education sessions, advice services and even circuit classes via video link.

Specialists are also now able to assess patients’ condition in a virtual way and offer further support about how they can continue their treatment at home via instant messaging.

Laura Atherton, Consultant Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy Practitioner, said: “At the start all we really had was a phone to talk to our patients. But as things developed and we started to use instant messaging and video, we began to get really good feedback from people.

“We began using something called ‘digital supertrack’ which allowed us to review people’s progress through their mobile device and then recommend changes to their treatment or different exercises to move-on to – all through instant messaging.

“In fact, this has been so popular that, we are now looking at how we can continue this virtual work with patients when we return to more ‘normal’ times.

“We were able to run a number of classes about pain, the social aspect of living with an MSK condition and also help both individuals and groups with their exercise and physical programmes.

“It just goes to show that people not only embrace new ways of working but often actually prefer doing things in a different way. We are very keen to explore how we can continue to work in a more flexible way in the future.”

Many Sefton Council car parks have remained open even during lockdown. With the exception of park and ride and multi storey car parks, all other council-run car parks are now fully open and charges will apply to these car parks and on-street parking.

Motorists are reminded that they can pay for parking by phone at most locations. They are also being  urged to sanitise thoroughly is they do use a pay & display machine.

The authority however is not responsible, nor has any control over the operation of privately owned car parks.

Civil Enforcement Officers will be following all guidance on social distancing. These officers are providing a vital and much needed service to ensure our borough’s incredible emergency services and NHS staff are able to freely move throughout Sefton without obstruction.

We know the vast majority of our residents will appreciate that this is an important service and that our operatives are simply doing their job.

However we will not tolerate any abuse, either verbal, written or physical, towards officers who are simply carrying out their day to day duties.

Moreover, we would not expect significant numbers using these car parks as the vast majority of our residents should be staying at home, in alignment with the national guidance.

A pilot mobile testing site in Southport is now offering tests to key workers, and the people they live with, if they have Coronavirus (Covid-19) symptoms.

Over the next two days, key workers who are self-isolating (either because they themselves or the people they live with are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms) can be tested, enabling people in vital roles to return to work sooner if they test negative.

Employees who are eligible for testing will be contacted by their employer or can contact their employers to request a test, either on behalf of themselves or a family member / someone who lives in their household.

Eligible candidates are people aged over 18 who are symptomatic but not so ill that they can’t work, or family members causing a key worker to need to self-isolate until Covid-19 can be ruled out. Anyone who is too ill to work will not be tested.

Cllr Ian Maher, Leader of Sefton Council, said: “I’m proud that the very first pilot testing facility in Cheshire and Merseyside is taking place in Southport.

“Sefton Council, working closely with our partners across the borough, have been identifying those key workers who meet the strict criteria for testing, so that they can be tested for Covid19 in a safe and accessible way.

“Our dedicated workforces want to be at work, supporting our local communities, and those who test negative will be able to return to the vital roles they play in the fight against Coronavirus.”