Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

Nursing home residents missing out on physiotherapy treatment

Many of the elderly in residential aged care are going without the physiotherapy treatment that they need to allow them to undertake basic activities such as walking and getting dressed, according to a survey by the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA).

APA president, Mr Peter Fazey said, “The survey showed that the average amount of time allocated for physiotherapy treatment is only 4.45 minutes per resident per week. In the worst case, a mere 24 seconds per resident per week was allocated for physiotherapy treatment.

“It’s hard to imagine how homes are meeting their obligation to ensure optimal levels of mobility and dexterity under Commonwealth standards,” he said.

“A total of 66 per cent of physiotherapists surveyed, believed the elderly under their care did not receive the physiotherapy treatment they require, and that a significant amount of therapy most appropriately undertaken by a registered physiotherapist, was actually being performed by non-physiotherapy staff.

“For a typical resident, being denied access to physiotherapy might mean the difference between being able to walk independently or being bed bound.

“The APA is calling for better scrutiny of access to physiotherapy by the independent Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency, the body responsible for managing the accreditation and ongoing supervision of quality in residential aged-care facilities.

“Residents and relatives should also ask facilities to divulge exactly how much time is allocated for a registered physiotherapist to provide clinical treatment to their loved ones”, Mr Fazey said.

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  2. Who says your age should limit your dreams?
  3. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  4. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  5. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  6. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...

Recent articles

  1. What is a lesser known impact of hearing loss for older...
  2. Are there options for older Australians to live in the same...
  3. The new initiative brings older Aussies together to see the...
  4. A collaboration between Dementia Australia and VistaPrint...
  5. How can you look after yourself during the expected heatwaves...
  6. How is an interactive app being used in aged care settings to...
  7. How could the upcoming strengthening of super standards save...
  8. Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, a Western Australian volunteer,...
  9. Why is an illegal website targeting older Australians?
  10. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  11. How does heart health impact your risk of dementia?
  12. Instead of going to the hospital, could older Australians...
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close