327 A review of patients referred to community rehabilitation (ExWell Medical) from gerontology clinic in a regional hospital

Abstract

Abstract Background ExWell Medical is an established community-based chronic illness rehabilitation programme which was founded in 2006. It is a not-for-profit company with over 2000 in-person patient visits per week, across 22 centres in Ireland. Its referrals stem from hospital consultants, general practitioners and other allied health professionals. The rationale behind ExWell Medical is that a large proportion of the disability that comes with any long-term illness is caused by deconditioning. It is particularly aimed at the ageing population who may find it difficult to engage with local services and have poor motivation. ExWell Medical offers community-based supervised exercise classes, as well as home programmes. Methods We performed an audit looking at the number and demographics of patients referred to ExWell Medical from 12/01/2022–22/5/2023 from the Gerontology Frailty Hub in a regional hospital. All patients attending the clinic during this time were included, and data was logged at each appointment. I then performed a retrospective analysis of patients referred to community rehabilitation. Results The total number of patients was 656 (322 male (49%), 334 female (51%). Of these, 67 were referred to ExWell Medical, 587 did not warrant referral and 2 were excluded due to lack of data. This correlates with a 10.2% referral rate. We proceeded to assess the demographics of those referred, which showed 67% were female and 33% were male. With regards to age; 4 patients were < 70 (6%), 15 were 70–75 (22.3%), 23 were 76–80 (34.3%), 14 were 81–85 (21%), 10 were 86–90 (15%) and 1 patient was over 95 (1.5%). Conclusion The referral rate to ExWell Medical was less than expected, and especially low in men. By highlighting this we hope to increase the number of patients referred in the future, as well as reducing the gender disparity.