Combined Care for Combined Complaints
Sports injuries, RSI and being overweight? Seneca, the expertise centre for sports, employment and health of the HAN University, has been handling these issues for nearly 6 years, not only for the HAN’s staff and students, but also for others who are not connected with the HAN.
Mrs Jane Doe has several complaints and problems. Apart from rheumatism and diabetes, she has problems with raising her children, and her job is not going as she hoped it would. Because of the complexity of her problems, she contacted Seneca, and it proved that she had come to the right shop. Anke Visser, coordinator of the interdisciplinary practice (IDP): ‘Before she came to us, she had been being treated by four physicians: an internist for her diabetes, a physiotherapist, and of course her General Practitioner and the company medical officer. But her situation did not improve. Reason: lack of coordination. After she came to us, she has one contact person who acts as an intermediary. Meanwhile her condition has improved greatly.’
Taking over each other’s work
The various professionals, who are also teachers at the GGM Health, Behaviour and Society, collaborate intensively at the IDP: there is the case manager, the occupational therapist, the physiotherapist and the speech therapist. The practice is specially focussed on the questions that people with chronic diseases and work-related complaints have. ‘The essence of interdisciplinary working is that you take over parts of each other’s work’, Mr Visser explains. ‘You are a paramedic in the first place, your discipline comes second. This is hardly done in health care.’
Match
For the clients it is convenient to deal with only one person. According to Mr Visser, the essence of being treated by SENECA IDP is the match between the therapist and the client. If a specific expertise is needed, they will involve the dietician, the nurse or another specialist. Every day, clients visit Seneca in order to be treated by a physiotherapist of speech therapist. True, the treatment is monodisciplinary, as for multidisciplinary treatment they hardly appeal to Seneca IDP. ‘We must promote our practice more’, Anke explained, ‘but it is not our intention to get as many clients as possible. Our aim is to have an innovative approach towards care, and to organise it in such a way that high-quality services can be provided while costs are reduced. The innovative part of it is that the lessons we learn in actual practice are also used in the classroom to involve our students.’
Anyhow, this innovative care has made Marjon Loonen of Reader Bureau at the Kapittelweg very happy. She has been treated for problems, monodisciplinary that is, with her voice by SENECA IDP. ‘Besides my job at the HAN, I am a yoga teacher. In the beginning I was rattling along during teaching. I met speech therapist Maureen Cambeen at Seneca. The advice was tailored to my needs, and with the practical tips I could set to work immediately.’
Comments
Two physiotherapy students wrote a vision paper about the IDP within the scope of their Bachelor’s degree in which they had quite some criticism on streamlining care. Mr Visser: ‘The criticism is taken into consideration, as we operate in an educational setting. The teachers provide treatment between classes. Or it appears that a class was planned in a room where you wanted to give treatment. Meanwhile we have found a fixed location and a fixed time to meet and we are now using a treatment reporting form that was designed by one of our students. Seneca will also be more physically displayed in the campus building.’
Information:
If you have any questions, please contact 024- 3531183 or seneca.idp@han.nl
