Lack of coordination: Railways hospital physios complain about doctors

Say doctors refuse to refer patients to physiotherapy department

RAWALPINDI: Railways General Hospital physiotherapists have complained that doctors and physicians from other departments hinder their job by showing reluctance in referring patients to their department.

Physiotherapy Department (PD) Pediatric in-charge Dr Saira Fahad said patients approach them on their own and rarely through referrals from other departments, stating that on an average day, they treat around 50 patients, whereas the hospital receives more than 800 patients. Generally patients come to us only when they have developed secondary complications due to prolonged ignorance, she explained.

“Apart from this, patients are referred if we have a direct coordination with general physicians or other specialists,” she said, adding that it is not possible to directly coordinate with every doctor in the hospital and keep track of patients that might be in need of physiotherapy.

PD post graduate trainee Anum Zafar explained that MBBS doctors with other specialisations have an impression that their expertise is enough to treat a patient. Although international protocols dictate that pre- and post-surgery physiotherapy are required, the doctors seem to ignore this due to lack of awareness regarding physiotherapeutic studies, she added.

PD Director Dr Abdul Hafeez, informed The Express Tribune that the department is being run through a public-private partnership between the Railways Department and Islamic International Medical Trust. Hafeez said that although 95 percent of the medical staff is being provided by Ripah College of Rehabilitation Sciences, they are still struggling to expand their services. They need to establish a gym for an artificial limb centre, but railway authorities are not allowing them to build new rooms. Currently there is one limb centre at Fauji Foundation Hospital, and it handles a huge number of patients, which affects treatment quality, he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Administrator Dr Bilal Arshad said that the property belongs to the Railways Department and the power to decide on departmental expansion rests with them. He said a lease plan has been forwarded to the authorities and awaits approval.

On the issue of doctors refusing to refer relevant patients for physiotherapy, Dr Arshad said that physiotherapists should not be concerned with whether or not patients should be referred to them. The decision to refer patients to the PD is up to the doctor, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2015.