National title crown beckons for Lincolnshire’s specialist children’s physiotherapists

Specialist physiotherapists helping children living with complex disabilities to stay at home with their families and avoid hospital admissions have reached the finals of a national award.

The team behind Lincolnshire’s Children’s Rapid Response Respiratory Service are among those competing to be winners of the ‘Paediatric Care Initiative of the Year’ in the HSJ Value Awards.  

The service proactively supports children aged 0-19 who have complex physical disabilities and additional respiratory problems by providing specialist assessment, management plans and training for families, carers and schools supporting each child.

The team also provides rapid response to these children when they become unwell to support them at home as early as possible, keeping them out of hospital.

Katie Clements, children’s physiotherapy professional advisor at Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, said: “We are really proud to be able to raise awareness of the fantastic work happening in Lincolnshire on a national platform.

“Evidence showed Lincolnshire had an increasing number of severely disabled children experiencing frequent and prolonged hospital admissions for chest infections. By introducing a proactive approach to supporting families, we are able to improve the support to children before they reach a crisis point, reducing significant stress upon families and making better use of resources in Lincolnshire. This also includes significant financial savings through prevented visits to Accident and Emergency departments, GP appointments and hospital admissions, including stays within specialist intensive care units.

“Feedback from parents has been overwhelmingly positive. The majority of parents who use our services tell us they now feel more empowered to manage their child’s respiratory problems day-to-day and they now work more closely with the professional team supporting them.”

The service initially launched as a 12-month pilot in February 2019. It prevented 64 hospital admissions in its first year, along with numerous associated healthcare appointments – saving a conservative estimate of £239,000 by providing care at home.

The pilot’s success has led to longer-term funding for the service across Lincolnshire.

The team are no strangers to national recognition, having won The Council of Allied Health Professions Research (CAHPR) Award for Evaluating Health and Social Care Practice at the Advancing Healthcare Awards in October 2020.

They now face a virtual judging panel for the HSJ Value Awards in April, ahead of the winners being crowned at a ceremony to be arranged for later in 2021.