A profile of hospice-at-home physiotherapy for community-dwelling palliative care patients.

Aim: To profile a specialised palliative care physiotherapy service to community-dwelling patients.

Design: Retrospective audit.

Setting: Milford Care Centre, Limerick, Ireland.

Participants: Patients referred to hospice-at-home physiotherapy during September 2010-February 2011.

Outcome Measure: Edmonton Functional Assessment Tool (EFAT-2).

Results: 165 patients were referred, of whom 90% had cancer. Nurses referred 120 (73%). Referrals appeared to be increased by the presence of physiotherapists in the nursing bases. No asssessment was conducted for 55 referrals (33%), mainly owing to clinical deterioration. The remaining 110 patients were assessed, with 47 (43%) being contacted within 2 days of referral (mean 4 days, standard deviation 4.2, range 0-21 days). Physical function ranged from 0-18 (median 7, mode 4) on the EFAT-2 scale. The most commonly used treatments were exercises and advice/education.

Conclusion: Referrals to the at-home physiotherapy service are heavily dependent on nurses and their understanding of the physiotherapy role. Patients tended to be relatively high functioning and tolerated numerous interventions.