There were several factors which may have contributed to this scenario. The patient’s comorbidities which include the ischaemic stroke which happened 2 years ago might have caused his fall. A Grade A recommendation and Level 1+ evidence were given by the National Stroke Foundation (2010) that patients are advised to undergo intensive rehabilitation for the first six months post-stroke. Given the fact that he had only received four months of inpatient rehabilitation, his functional status might not have been maximised. In addition, a Grade A recommendation and Level 1+ evidence were given for multi-disciplinary intervention in inpatient rehabilitation (MOH, 2008). However, the inpatient rehabilitation approach in the patient’s holistic management is …show more content…
Hence, the role of a community physiotherapist can include making a referral to an occupational therapist (WCPT, 2003) as he or she could help in assessing and modifying the home environment to make it an elderly friendly apartment. Apart from physiotherapists, occupational therapists can also help in facilitating the patient’s safety. In addition, the bathroom which is the location of the fall should be assessed and identified for any hazards to prevent future falls. A study by Cumming et al. (1999), it was shown that occupational therapists were able to impede future falls in the elderly by visiting the patients’ homes so that the patients will be able to live safely. Further interventions include home modifications which can also result in positive behaviour outcomes. The intervention had shown to be statistically significantly better in the intervention group (36%) had than the control group (45%) with a decreasing percentage of subjects who had fallen. Together with the prescribed home exercise programme and home modification for safety, these interventions can decrease the rate and risk of future falls (Gillespie et al.,