Rehabilitation day therapy program

In 2007, Mater Private Hospital Annerley Road Campus launched a Private Rehabilitation Day Therapy Program for individuals with complex rehabilitation needs.

The new service, which started in mid February, is designed for private patients who require a coordinated approach to rehabilitation in a day therapy setting.

The needs of the patients who attend the program vary according to their condition. Typically, they are neurological patients, such as those who have suffered a stroke or Parkinson’s disease; orthopaedic patients with conditions of the upper and lower body; and patients with general reconditioning requirements such as those suffering from prolonged illness or multiple injuries.

The program was developed and implemented by Deirdre Cooke, Rehabilitation Coordinator for the Rehabilitation Team at Mater Private Hospital Annerley Road Campus.

“The new service offers patients a high quality comprehensive program that takes a coordinated approach to patient care, which was previously missing in a private day therapy setting”, she said.

“Each patient’s program is overseen by Rehabilitation Specialist Dr Susan Graham and we bring together a number of different therapy staff from areas such as physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and social work to ensure that patient’s requirements are met and they receive an effective continuum of care.”

The program runs for a period of four to six weeks depending on the patient’s individual needs, with each patient attending for a period of four hours a day, twice a week.

Therapy sessions are conducted in a small group environment, which allows patients to support each other throughout treatment.

Admission requirements for the program see that patients receive input from at least two disciplines each session and that they are able to attend for two sessions per week.

Uptake of the new service has been extremely good and there is a view to grow the service to meet future demand.

“If demand for the service continues to rise we will look at increasing the service from two to three days a week,” Ms Cooke continued.

In addition to the program, the Mater Private Rehabilitation Unit includes a multidisciplinary inpatient service with 34 beds providing specialised rehabilitation and acute care services.