Rehabilitation, physiotherapy or medical spa?

A coordinated clinical rehabilitation programme may involve several disciplines, structured goals and supervision. Admission criteria, nursing support and daily therapy vary. The provider must assess whether the programme fits the patient’s needs.

Scheduled therapy visits generally require separate accommodation and daily transport. Ask how often sessions occur, who reviews progress and what help is available between appointments.

These can combine a stay with specified therapies and a medical consultation. The programme’s intensity and supervision must be checked. A spa setting alone does not establish suitability for complex rehabilitation needs.

Wellness activities focus on general wellbeing. They should not be presented as treatment or as a substitute for a prescribed rehabilitation programme.

The answers show what a programme really includes.

Questions to ask

• How many hours of therapy per day, and from which therapists: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy?
• Are nurses available day and night, and how often does a doctor see the patient?
• How are goals set, and how is progress reviewed with the family?
• Can a companion stay, and is the room suitable for a wheelchair?
• In which language is the final report written?

Rehabilitation providers decide on admission from the medical reports, especially the latest hospital discharge report, and from a description of what the patient can do day to day: walking, eating, washing and communicating. Share these through the provider’s secure route when it asks for them.