It was a poor start. Staff did online assessment because of the pandemic, which led the physio assigned to me to misdiagnose me and give unsuitable exercises which were damaging to my health. When i raised it I was passed on to another physio who again gave me unsuitable exercises.
Eventually the new physio listened to me and decided to see me in person as soon as they were allowed to. Once they assessed me in person they realised that the online assessment had indeed led to things being missed and inappropriate treatment and were honest about it. After that they made sure to adapt exercises & frequency of follow up to me, and only discharged me once i was fully recovered and stable.
The issues that i raised with my care led to a good discussion with the new physio and they made sure that learning was shared with the rest of their team. I believe the assessment forms now warn patients that online assessment has advantages (being seen sooner, no risk of catching covid) but also downsides (risks of things being missed). They also informed themselves more about hypermobility and Ehlers Danlos syndrome and how it can impact progress in physio therapy.
In the end it took many months but between the nerve injection done to block out some of my nerve pain and the gentle exercise program that the new physio adapted for me. The pain has mostly gone. Now when i have an occasional flare up of pain i know what exercises to do to help.
I really want to thank the physio not only for persevering and finding a treatment that worked for me but mostly for admitting issues and being honest going forward. It makes so much difference as a patient to be believed, listened to and involved in my care rather than being blamed for my symptoms as i have so many times before this.
Staff attitude
Involved in decisions
Being listened to