When residents first come to St. Attractas Nursing Home a referral is made to the Physical Therapy Practitioner to complete an initial assessment. The Physical Therapy Practitioner liaises closely with the multi -disciplinary team to ensure all aspects of care are taken care of. The following list includes many of the routine duties the in house Physiotherapist provides…

• Initial Assessment and Treatment plans.
• Management of spasticity and contractures associated with conditions such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis etc.
• Gait re-education including indoor and outdoor mobility, gait pattern training and provision of walking aids
• Exercise Therapy including exercise tolerance and endurance training, progression of exercise plans, improvement of range of motion, strengthening of upper limbs, lower limbs and core.
• Falls prevention to include balance work, exercises, education, footwear advice and education for patients and carers.
• Postural advice.
• Positioning and transfer practice
• Electrotherapy adjuncts including heat and ice therapy.
• Respiratory assessment and treatment including breathlessness education and
• Ambulatory oxygen advice.
• Orthopaedic post-operative management.
• Manual handling assessments.
• Liaison with other service providers

Javier Hernandez, Physical Therapy Practitioner

The Physical Therapy Practitioner can assist in the care of residents who may have any of the following conditions:

Neurological, Orthopaedic, Arthritis, Spinal, Respiratory, Cognitive Conditions including Alzheimer Disease & Dementia, Oncology & Palliative Care.  Using the full range of physiotherapy skills the physiotherapist working in palliative care treats not only cancer patients but also those suffering from many other life limiting conditions such as motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, other progressive neurological conditions, respiratory conditions and dementia.