Rehab Week: “Every day we are changing lives” – physiotherapist

As Guyana wrapped up its celebration of Rehab Week on Friday, emphasis was placed on the life-changing experiences such services have brought to patients across the country.
In this week’s edition of Health Matters, Rehab Week was identified as the focal point, observed under the theme: “Diversifying, Expanding Coverage and Optimizing Care for all Through Rehabilitation.”
Physiotherapist Simone Seckle shared that persons being able to hear or walk again has been life-changing, not just for them, but their families.
“Every day, we are changing lives. It might not be documented but there are many achievements in how we care for our patients, from people returning to work after injuries, people going back to school and helping parents to deal with children that might have a permanent disability,” Seckle outlined.
She highlighted that after an injury or traumatic event, most persons think it is the end of the road. However, rehabilitative professionals work to ensure they rebound to their utmost potential.
“Sometimes we get certain health diagnosis and we think that is the end of life and we’re in a state of depression. With rehab services, we try to help those individuals and let them know that life still goes on and they can still be so productive.”
In the hospital setting, persons can access speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and audiological services. At the specialised centres, there are orthosis and orthotic services and remedial education for adults with disability.
In the case of the Georgetown Public Hospital, rehab professionals would directly work with patients to nurse them back to normal. Seckle has encouraged persons, should they be hospitalised, to lobby for assistance from such personnel.
“All the services are available at the Georgetown Public Hospital so we work in the acute care, where if persons are admitted to the wards, we go to all the wards to get rehab done.”
Meanwhile, outpatient care is also available.
“Use the services. It is available. It’s free and I can guarantee you won’t regret it. You will receive optimal care,” she urged.
Seckle shared that the number of professionals in the field has grown significantly within the past year. From eight physiotherapists initially, there are now 51 across the country. However, there is still need for more specialisation.
“When we look at expanding our services, we are expanding on our personnel also. We’ve been exposed to so many training and internationally-recognised training programmes… We still need specialisation in all the disciplines. There’s still a need for orthotic technicians. Right now, our centre is in dire need of that specialty,” she disclosed.