The Police Treatment Centres (PTC) are offering officers, who subscribe to the centres, the chance to access a new remote physiotherapy service online.
Sessions will be delivered by video or, for members who don’t have access to a computer or the internet, over the telephone.
Any care or treatment advice will be provided at the appointment or emailed afterwards and any follow-up will be arranged as normal.
The remote service is suitable for members who find it hard to travel or have dependents making a residential stay difficult.
And it has been particularly useful during the Covid-19 pandemic since the two centres are currently closed.
Mark Oxley, PTC head of clinical services, said: “We’ve invested in a video platform called Attend Anywhere, which we believe offers the best clinical experience for remote physiotherapy consultations. Initially, this was a necessity due to the obligation we have to carry out a remote consultation with all patients before we consider a residential admission.
“The platform has been so useful and successful that we’ve expanded its use to include virtual outpatient treatment for all our donors.
“This additional service allows Attend Anywhere technology to provide our donors with access to the usual high standard of expert advice and treatment with the benefit, flexibility and comfort of carrying this out from their own home.”
He added: “The new remote physiotherapy outpatient service will supplement our established residential treatment and I believe it will be hugely beneficial and in time become firmly embedded within the range of clinical services we offer.”
Glyn Pattinson, secretary of Staffordshire Police Federation, is urging any officer who does not subscribe to the PTC to reconsider their stance.
“The level of support the PTC can provide to its subscribing members is amazing, particularly when you consider it costs just £7.80 a month. When you think back to the amount of money we would perhaps spend on coffee, a drink at a pub or a meal out in the pre-pandemic world, this seems such a small price to pay,” he explains.
“The PTCs offer physiotherapy and psychological wellbeing programmes that are specifically designed and tailored for people working in the police service so for just a small donation each month officers can have the peace of mind of knowing that the centres will be there for them to help them return to work or just support their overall health.
“Currently only one in three Staffordshire Police Federation members are signed up to the PTC despite the fact that the support offered could be the difference between someone returning to work or going onto half pay.”
Find out more by visiting the Police Treatment Centres website.
- If you want to subscribe to the PTCs, contact payroll by emailing melanie.willmott@staffordshire.pnn.police.uk
