A physiotherapist’s use of digital technology has seen the waiting list for physiotherapy fall by more than 80% and has helped patients like Stephen to be seen even quicker.
Senior specialist physiotherapist Linda Furness, who works at the Friarage Hospital, has been credited for driving a change within the physiotherapy department in the hospital – which has helped massively bring down the waiting list and enabled patients to receive prompt care.
To ensure that the waiting list came down and patients were seen sooner, Linda and her team adopted Communication Annex, a software designed to facilitate the sending of information to patients.
Prior to this, patients on the physiotherapy waiting list were sent key information, such as partial booking letters or appointment letters, by post.
This process required patients to confirm their appointments either by post or by calling the department, which was expensive and took several days.
In a bid to make things more efficient and seamless, the Friarage physiotherapy team developed a two-question text message that was sent to patients on their mobile phones using Communication Annex.
The text message sent to patients on the waiting list asked if they still required treatment and if they could attend their appointments on short notice if there were any cancellations.
Patients receiving the text message would either confirm they no longer needed care and could be removed from the waiting list, or those who still needed care would be allotted an appointment slot accordingly.
The process made communication between the hospital team and patients swift and rapid and reduced pressure on the admin team. Patients could confirm their appointments within minutes of receiving their appointment letters.
Patients can still opt out of any information being sent to them from the hospital through text messages and can carry on receiving appointment letters through post.
One of the patients who benefitted from the swift communication process was Stephen Brooks.
Stephen, 63, was referred to the Northallerton hospital’s physiotherapy department after undergoing surgery to repair his broken elbow after suffering a nasty fall at work in September 2024.
The hospital team contacted the Thirsk resident four days after his surgery and his appointment was confirmed within minutes through a text sent through the new software.
As a result, Stephen’s first physiotherapy appointment took place within 14 days of his accident – which was a culmination of rapid communication sent through Communication Annex and the team’s hard work.
Stephen, who has confirmed further physio appointments through the comfort of his home, said: “I have had a marvellous experience working with my physio, especially Linda who has been brilliantly kind and supportive.
“It’s impressive to hear the waiting list has been considerably reduced and personally, Linda has always managed to find me an appointment which worked well for me.”
Linda said: “By utilising this method, it meant that the team could all assist in sending out texts and appointments, which in turn reduced pressure on our admin team.
“To help, I created a user guide and explained how the process worked and shared this amongst the team and ensured we kept up the process throughout the year and monitored the lists every month.
We have also recently started sending out a satisfaction survey and have had lots of wonderful feedback from patients."