Physiotherapy - Amputee Class

Where is it?

The Amputee Class is held on Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30am to 11:30am in the Physiotherapy Outpatient Department at The Royal Oldham Hospital. You will be invited to attend one of the sessions on a weekly basis. We work in collaboration with the Specialised Ability Centre Manchester (SACM).

Who runs it?

The class is run by a team of physiotherapists, therapy assistants and admin support.

Who is it for?

The class is held for patients following their lower limb amputation, who have a GP in the Bury and Oldham areas. The aim will be for you to be seen weekly for your rehabilitation, alongside regular reviews at the SACM. However, this may not always be possible due to staffing, but you will be informed if a class is due to be cancelled.

The class is designed to:

• Support you to regain your personal functional goals to achieve maximum independence and function
• Assess for prosthetic use
• Provide education on monitoring and maintaining your health and wellbeing
• Provide information, advice and signposting to other support services
• Give you and your family the opportunity to meet other patients with recent/established lower limb amputations

How does it work?

This is an adult class with numbers of up to twelve patients.

You will be assigned a lead physiotherapist and receive a weekly one to one session during the class. After an initial assessment you will be provided with an exercise programme to complete at home and during the class.

The physiotherapy staff will work with you on your personalised goals, which may include walking practice with an early walking aid or a prothesis. We will transfer your rehab to your local community Physiotherapy team at the appropriate time.

What should I wear?

Please wear comfortable clothing to allow you to exercise. A pair of shorts can be useful to allow ease of fitting the early walking aid or your prosthesis. Relatives or carers do not need to routinely attend these classes. However, if you feel you would like someone there with you for support purposes, then they are welcome to attend. Please inform the physiotherapy team of this.

How do I get there?

Ambulances can be arranged through the physiotherapy department or there is patient parking on site.

The company responsible for ambulance transport is The North West Ambulance Service. If you need to contact them to cancel an ambulance their contact number is 0800 032 3240.

Although the physiotherapy department will book transport for patients, we do not have a direct influence on the pick-up/drop off times. We advise that all patients are ready to be picked up from their home address from 7:30am onwards.
 
There can sometimes be delays in pick up after the class due to the run times of the ambulance and you may find that you are sometimes waiting into the afternoon for your return journey. You may wish to consider bringing a snack in preparation for these situations.

Attendance

If you are unable to attend the class for any reason please ring the department on 0161 627 8017 or 0161 627 8517 and inform a member of staff as soon as possible so that transport can be cancelled accordingly. Please do not attend the class if you are unwell.

If you fail to attend your appointment without contacting the service you will receive a letter with another appointment to attend. If you fail to attend on a second occasion you will have 30 days to re-book an appointment. If we do not hear from you during this time you will be discharged from our service.

Refreshments

There will be fresh water, tea, coffee and biscuits available for every patient during class times only. If you suffer from diabetes please ensure you have a snack with you at all times, especially in view of potential delays with transport.

Medication

If you suffer from any medical conditions where you require medication please ensure you bring this to class with you; for example inhalers, insulin and GTN sprays. If you are diabetic please bring your blood glucose monitoring kits too.

We are unable to provide wound care and dressings, therefore if you have an open wound please consider if you will need to bring extra dressings to the class. You may also want to discuss timings to have your wound re-dressed with your district nurse.

Smoking 

The hospital is a no smoking site and therefore we ask patients to refrain from smoking whilst on site.

Further Information

Early walking aids

During the class your physiotherapist will assess your suitability to use an early walking aid called the Pneumatic Post-Amputation Mobility (PPAM) aid.

Benefits of early walking aids

• Psychological boost
• Improves balance
• Improves postural reactions
• Prepares you to use a prosthetic (artificial) limb
• Decreases pain
• Decreases phantom sensation

How does it work?

When you initially start using an early walking aid, your physiotherapist will measure you to ensure the correct size is applied.

You will initially start practicing with the early mobility aids within parallel bars to build your confidence and practice the correct technique. You may then progress to using a walking frame or elbow crutches under the guidance of your physiotherapist. Everyone progresses at a different rate and your physiotherapist will monitor your ability and progress.

You will continue using the early mobility aid in the class until you have been provided with a prosthesis from the Specialised Ability Centre Manchester.

Once you have received your prosthesis, you will continue to attend the class and work towards your personal goals with the help of your physiotherapist. We will transfer your rehabilitation to your local community Physiotherapy team at the appropriate time.

Helpful videao clips

PPAM Aid:

Useful Contact Numbers

Wheelchair Centres

Bury and Rochdale Tel: 01706 676349
Manchester Tel: 0161 611 3800
Oldham Tel: 0161 509 0090
Tameside Tel: 0161 509 0091

Specialised Ability Centre Manchester (SACM) - Wythenshawe
Tel: 0161 6113784/0161 611 3700

MANFIT – Manchester Amputee Fitness Initiative
Tel: 01663 762 766/07776 181180
Email: info@manfit.org
Website: www.manfit.org

Amputee Foundation
Tel: 01744 808850
Email:  amputation.foundation@hotmail.com

Ring and Ride
Accessible minibus low-cost hire service in Greater Manchester. This service operates between 8am to 10.45pm Monday to Saturday and 8am to 10.25pm on Sundays.

Register via phone: 0161 200 6011/0845688 4933
Email: enquires@ringandride.info