Poster Presentation ANZTS Trauma 2024 Conference

Physiotherapy led Trauma Tertiary Survey: can a shared model of care improve timely and quality service provision for trauma patients?  (21401)

Melissa J Webb 1 2 , Lara A Kimmel 1 2 3 , Asher Kirk 1 , Sara Calthorpe 1 , Michael Noonan 4 , Doug McCaskie 2
  1. Physiotherapy Department, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. Allied Health Executive, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  3. Department of Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  4. Trauma Service, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Introduction 

The Trauma Tertiary survey (TTS) is a clinical examination performed on all trauma admissions.  Delays in its completion can potentially increase morbidity, delay discharge and hamper recovery.  Trauma physiotherapists are highly skilled at assessing injured patients. This project aimed to reduce time to TTS completion and percentage of TTS completed on day of discharge through the addition of Physiotherapy led TTS assessment in the trauma ward of an adult level 1 trauma centre. 

 

Methods 

Following an education package and the development of a credentialing and governance framework, senior trauma physiotherapists undertook TTS assessments alongside the medical team in a shared model of care. KPIs (including time and quality metrics) were analysed and compared to a baseline period. 

 

Results 

Baseline data was collected over a six-month period (October 2022 - March 2023) and compared to 12 months (May 2023 – October 2024) following the commencement of the Physiotherapy led TTS service.  Median time to TTS completion improved from 48.5 hours to 40 hours (p < 0.001), with 12% more TTS completed within 48 hours for the target group (61% compared to 73% p < 0.001). Reduction in day of discharge TTS was also noted on the target ward (13% vs 7% p <0.001) compared to baseline.  Other process and performance quality improvements were also noted. 

 

Conclusions 

The addition of senior trauma physiotherapists to the pool of practitioners credentialed to perform TTS assessments has improved timely TTS without safety concerns.