A few small changes are making it easier for adults with learning disabilities to have care and fun in a hydrotherapy pool.
At Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, a short-notice cancellation list now helps the South Kent Coast and Thanet Adult Learning Disability Team quickly offer cancelled or unused hydrotherapy slots to someone else, making better use of pool time and helping more people get into the water.
To help clients and families even further, sessions are now being run over four-weeks, instead of eight and appointment letters have been simplified too, following feedback which said both of these changes would make things easier.
The result is that the number of missed appointments has dropped, the pool is running at full capacity and most importantly, those who benefit from the sessions are enjoying time in the water.
Fiona Saunders from Hythe, said her daughter Hannah, 31, enjoys the sessions. Fiona said: “Hannah’s recent hydrotherapy sessions have been due to cancellations. The sessions have helped Hannah with increased stiffness in her muscles. They allow her the benefit of feeling free without being strapped into equipment. The warm water and ambience in the pool area is relaxing. We are always happy to jump into the sessions when cancellations become available.”
Above: Hannah Saunders enjoying time in the hydrotherapy pool with two members of her care team.
Patricia Orchard, whose daughter Lucy Woolgar-Orchard, 21, uses the service, agrees. Patricia said: “Lucy is severely disabled, but when she is in the pool she is helped to stand up and the physiotherapists get her to walk. She does things she wouldn’t be able to do at home. It is so good for her, so if I have a phone call at lunchtime, asking if I could take a last-minute cancellation a couple of hours later, I always do my best to take the slot. The hydrotherapy sessions give her confidence as well as helping her with movement and to stretch. It soothes her muscles and relaxes her body.”
Lewis Whitmore, 30, from Margate, who has cerebral palsy dysplasia and is wheelchair bound, also appreciates the sessions, which help him with his muscle spasms and mobility. He said: “I really enjoyed them. They helped my muscles relax. I had five or six sessions and now the team contacts me if they have a last-minute cancellation, to see if I could use the slot.”
The team has recently made other improvements too, to make sure the pool is used to its fullest capacity. These include phoning patients just before their appointments to confirm attendance and outside of the cancellation list appointments, giving families plenty of notice about appointments so they can arrange transport.
Physiotherapist Priyanka Karnad said: “We use these slots for adults with learning disabilities. Some are profoundly disabled and being in the water helps muscles relax, it helps with stretching, relaxation and sensory needs. These sessions can help balance issues if the client has had falls. Some clients are wheelchair bound and cannot walk, but they can walk with assistance in the water. There are many benefits.”
Priyanka worked with her Clinical Lead Physiotherapist Omo Olaleye on the quality improvement (QI) project, after completing a KCHFT QI Lite training course. She said: “My manager encouraged a QI approach and encouraged me to do it jointly with her, as it was my first QI project. It was really good to look at things with fresh eyes and break things down.”
