The Role of Physiotherapist amidst Covid-19 Pandemic
Covid-19 Pandemic has created havoc in our lives. It has been more than a year now since this pandemic has started and we still has no idea when this will end. Small business like ours has been affected immensely and most people are still confused if Physiotherapy and other healthcare treatment is essential or not.
Physiotherapy care, whether delivered in the ICU, in clinics, in long-term care facilities, through virtual care, in homes, or in outpatient clinics is essential care. As autonomous self-regulated health care professionals bound by a code of ethics, physiotherapists, chiropractors, RMT’s and other regulated healthcare professionals exercise their judgement to act in the best interests of patients and the public to ensure that treatment that could be reasonably delayed is not pursued at the expense of public health precautions. During the pandemic, physiotherapy care has been safely provided across the health system in compliance with all required infection prevention and control measures. Physiotherapy care can and continues to be adapted using alternate delivery approaches, such as virtual care, to manage exposure risks during pandemic restrictions and ensure patients can safely continue treatment.
Many Canadians have had to delay treatments due to the mandatory measures enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19. As a result, the health conditions of many have deteriorated, pain has persisted or increased, mental health has worsened, and preventive or maintenance treatments have not been delivered.
A growing number of Canadians are living with pain and chronic conditions as a result of the surgical backlog created by the delay/postponement of elective surgeries1,2 during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Post-operative physiotherapy helps patients to recover and return home more quickly.3
The care and treatment offered by physiotherapists is crucial in keeping Canadians healthy and in preventing the need to access urgent or emergency services in-hospital. In addition, research shows that physiotherapy can delay or prevent the need for elective procedures, such as hip and knee replacements, further decreasing the burden on our health care system during a second or third wave.
Care provided by physiotherapists with appropriate safety precautions contributes to the health of Canada’s workforce by helping Canadians stay mobile, healthy, and active contributors to our economy and communities. Further, physiotherapy care has not been a source of community spread.
Uninterrupted access to physiotherapy care in communities supports the wider health care system’s capacity by easing pressure on hospitals and improving recovery trajectory for patients.
In order to keep Canadians safe, physiotherapists and other regulated health care professionals, are trained in, and adhere to, strict infection control practices.
Canadians want to stay healthy and active during the pandemic and the last place Canadians want to be is in-hospital. The early months of 2020 saw a 25 percent decrease in ER visits compared to the same period in 2019