Table 3.

Common Criteria Used to Identify Patients to Receive Weekend Physiotherapy Service (n=98)

Common referral criteria*	No. (%) of hospitals using criterion
Patients with acute cardiorespiratory issues	55 (80.9)
New referrals	47 (69.1)
Patients requiring PT to augment or accelerate discharge over the weekend or on Monday	47 (69.1)
Patients who underwent acute orthopaedic surgery	37 (54.4)
Patients who underwent THA/TKA	36 (52.9)
Postoperative patients (unspecified surgery)	32 (47.1)
Patients requiring PT to prevent deterioration	24 (35.3)
Patients currently on a care pathway	22 (32.4)
Patients with a neurological condition	17 (25.0)
Patients who underwent major abdominal surgery	14 (20.6)
Patients with burns	14 (20.6)

Note: Also reported as identified for WPT were patients who underwent thoracic surgery; were in the intensive care unit; were ventilated; were in the Emergency department / had multiple traumas; underwent heart surgery; underwent breast surgery; underwent spinal surgery; underwent vascular surgery; underwent shoulder surgery; underwent head and/or neck surgery; presented with acute low back pain; sustained frostbite; sustained a hip fracture; sustained a myocardial infarction; had cystic fibrosis; had mobility issues; were using a continuous passive motion machine; had been identified by the weekend physiotherapist; had shown rapid improvement with physiotherapy.

^*Categories are not mutually exclusive.

PT=physiotherapy; THA=total hip arthroplasty; TKA=total knee arthroplasty.