Triage
Once we have received your child/young person's referral, a member of the team will telephone you to find out more details about the reason they have been referred to physiotherapy. From here, we will understand more about the type of appointment they need, how quickly they will be seen and who is best to assess them. We may also be able to give you advice over the phone to help treat the symptoms whilst you wait to be seen.
We can offer video appointments or face to face depending on why your child/young person has been referred to physio. Based on whether we need to look and observe them or carry out specific hands-on test, your triage physiotherapist will be able to advise you on what type of appointment is best for your child.
Initial appointment
Initial appointments last longer, taking anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes and again will be dependent on the reason your child/young person has been referred. At the beginning of the assessment, the physiotherapist will likely ask you lots of questions to understand more about your child/young person's challenges/ pain before they go on to carry out their physical assessment.
During their physical assessment, the physiotherapist will likely observe the way in which your child moves and performs large movement activities (gross motor skills) such as sitting, standing, walking, running and jumping etc. They may want to look at their posture, feel how much movement they have in their joints, how strong their muscles are or if there is anything that may be causing them pain. It is useful if your child/young person could attend their appointment in lose fitting clothing or bring shorts and t-shirts with them to change into. On occasion, the physiotherapist may ask them to remove their t-shirt so we can observe them in more detail.
Sometimes assessments may need to take place over several appointments depending on how your child/young person interacts with the assessment. We want to gain your child/young person's trust and give them a positive experience of physiotherapy so therefore will not push them if they are finding the assessment difficult.
Follow up appointments
Follow up appointments usually last between 20 and 30 minutes however, dependent on your child/ young person's needs, they may on occasion, last up to 60 minutes. Your physiotherapist will be able to tell you how long your follow up appointments will take following your initial appointment.
During follow up appointments your physiotherapist will provide an individualised treatment plan likely consisting of stretches, strengthening exercises and activities to help your child/young person to achieve their goals or potential. Often, we will include parents in our sessions to teach you how to help or support them at home.