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Minister White Addresses Advanced skills Training Programme for Physiotherapists
Twenty physiotherapists today received their certification from Minister of State, Alex White in ‘Advanced Skills for Physiotherapists in treating Heart Failure’. This recent training initiative was funded by the HSE and the training programme delivered by the Irish Society for Chartered Physiotherapists.
This advanced skills course for physiotherapists is part of the National Heart Failure Clinical Programme, which is designed to improve quality of life for patients with heart failure. Every patient with heart failure is managed within a structured programme and there are targeted programmes to prevent heart failure. Targets for the programme are to reduce readmission rates by 1000 and to reduce bed days by 20,000 per year. One of the key components of the programme is to enable patients to self-care with education by nurse specialists, direct access to appropriate care, including physiotherapy, and optimisation of medicines.
Speaking at the presentation of certification to physiotherapists today Minister of State Alex White said:
The HSE’s Heart Failure Clinical Care Programme has identified the advantages of having suitably trained and experienced physiotherapists in the provision of appropriate exercise and rehabilitation for patients. Comprehensive rehabilitation programmes in which patients undergo supervised exercise have been proven to reduce length of stay and can empower patients to return to normal activities within their capabilities, further enhancing their quality of life.