First contact physiotherapy service delivery during the C19 pandemic
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploration of rapid adaptation in first contact physiotherapy healthcare service delivery in the UK and Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
IRAS ID
326902
Contact name
Oluwatoyin Adeniji
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Integrity and Governance Office
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
326902, IRAS
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 0 days
Research summary
First-contact physiotherapy services (FCPS) have been introduced in primary-care in the UK and emergency-care in Australia due to the ageing population and increased burden of musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases (Versus Arthritis, 2021), this is to ensure safe and high-quality care for MSK patients at the point of access, providing effective patient pathways (CSP, 2018; HEE, 2019). FCPS, an important part of primary-care and emergency-department, provides an essential first point of contact services for the assessment of MSK patients' needs, promptly setting patients on their rehabilitation journey, through immediate intervention, ongoing referral, or advice (HEE, 2019; Department of Health and Human Services, 2015a). FCPS was at the pilot and early implementation stage when COVID-19 pandemic happened, this threatened the services that are new and traditionally require face-to-face consultation. Though disruption was noted in FCPS, especially during the early phase of the pandemic (Hartnett et al., 2020, CSP 2021), however, some FCPS were able to resile by rapidly adapting, using telehealth (CSP 2021). It is important to learn about the characteristics of a new service such as FCPS that facilitated its resilience during the pandemic, especially within the healthcare setting that was badly affected, i.e., primary and emergency care. There is currently no research evidence on the process and strategies adopted for FCP rapid adaptation, barriers, and facilitators. Also, the impact of rapid adaptation on FCPS responsiveness to population healthcare needs is not known. This study aims at exploring strategies adopted by FCPS to rapidly adapt their healthcare service delivery during the pandemic, barriers and facilitators to rapid adaption and its impact on FCPS responsiveness to patients’ healthcare needs in the UK and Australia. This will help to develop a guide that could prepare FCPS and other similar healthcare services for future health emergencies, promoting readiness and responsiveness and preventing or minimising disruption.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0200
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jul 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion