Cardio- Respiratory Wards

There is lots of equipment to get used to on the Cardio- Respiratory wards. Equipment was categorised into "assessors" and "treaters". Objective measurements such as Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Respiratory Rate, O2 Saturations and lung sounds via auscultation were assessed, to give clinical reasoning for a desired treatment such as Active Cycle of Breathing Techniques, postural drainage, manual techniques or Yankeur suctioning.

A few patients on the caseload belonged to the paediatric ward. This patient/ client group had similar presentations to the older age group, but due to children's bodies still maturing different protocols were necessary. One child in particular presented with learning difficulties and was unable to verbally communicate. This was initially challenging as his body language always suggested a rejection with his oscillation jacket. To combat this, he was always treated in his best interest with his daily interventions being orientated around fun and games.

An active way to treat patients was done through exercise, therefore before hospital discharge a thorough assessment of chair, bed, toilet and stair transfers were conducted to ensure that patients/ clients would be safe upon returning home and to avoid re- admissions to hospital.

I also had the opportunity to shadow healthcare professionals treating patients/ clients on ICU and those who were receiving end of life care. This demonstrated that some patients/ clients required 24/7 care, which made me make certain that some of my patients/ clients had an extensive care plan, which reached outside the contact time of their physiotherapy sessions.

Lastly, I attended a pulmonary rehabilitation class in Huddersfield community which highlighted that patients/ clients could improve further following hospital discharge with an appropriate onwards referral. This was advantageous to observe because as a clinician I could grasp a greater understanding of patient's/ client's potential.