Out-patient physiotherapy: patterns of provision

A total of 1014 physiotherapy out-patients and their therapists were interviewed at 10 hospitals in Oxfordshire and Devonshire, including a District General Hospital, a Geriatric, and a sample of associated Community Hospitals in each of the two regions. Over 70% of these patients were suffering from long-term disabilities. The proportion of this type of patient varied between the hospital types, and this variation was similar in the two regions. The overall frequencies with which the different physiotherapy treatments were employed were, for the most part, similar in all departments regardless of hospital type or regions involved. Exercises and heat were the predominant treatments everywhere. The standard frequency of attendance was twice or three times a week. One third of the patients used hospital transport; most patients attended a hospital reasonably close to their homes.