Northern Ireland physios ‘sock it’ to lymphoedema

^{The musculoskeletal physiotherapy team at Tyrone County Hospital wore odd socks to raise awareness of lymphoedema}

The musculoskeletal physiotherapy team at Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh, part of Western Health and Social Care Trust, marked the week by wearing odd socks to raise awareness of the condition as part of their Sock it to Lymphoedema campaign.

In addition, physio Jill Hamilton, lead for the trust’s lymphoedema service, made an effort to raise the profile of the condition among other healthcare professionals.

She created an information section for the trust’s website and posting a lymphoedema-related article on the staff intranet. Ms Hamilton, who is a member of the physiotherapy-led Lymphoedema Network Northern Ireland (LNNI), said: ‘Raising awareness of the condition has been embedded into the LNNI work plan for the last eight years and continues to be something we work on within the Western Trust area.

‘Early detection and early referral to the service can lead to a better outcome for patients, in the long term, by providing the necessary skills for them to be able to self-manage their condition.’

Timely referrals

Meanwhile, physiotherapist Jane Rankin, lead of LLNI, highlighted the condition by meeting with undergraduate physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetic and speech and language therapy students at the University of Ulster’s cancer conference.

Elsewhere, outpatient physios at the Northern Health and Social Care Trust received an awareness session from Elaine Stowe, the trust’s lymphoedema lead.

She gave them guidance about making timely referrals for patients with lymphoedema, as well as information about the correct referral procedure.

Author: Robert Millett