Bahamas

Welcome to Worldwide Physical Therapy Practice: a focus on Primary Care Physical Therapy

This is a project created by and for the students in the School of Physical Therapy at the University of St. Augustine in St. Augustine Florida. Please do not edit unless you are involved in this project, but please come back in the near future to check out new information!!

Original Editor - Michelle O'Neal.

Lead Editors - Your name will be added here if you are a lead editor on this page.  Read more.

Patient Access to Physiotherapy or Physical Therapy Services / Entry Point

• Physiotherapy services in the Bahamas are delivered by licensed physiotherapists who work in both the private and public sectors. Physiotherapists in the Bahamas are few in number. Considering that the Bahamas is an archipelago of islands consisting of 700 islands, cays and rocks, 29 of which are inhabited there are fewer than 50 licensed physiotherapists to serve the needs of the population of 313,312 persons. While there are a number of small privately owned physiotherapy clinics most persons access physiotherapy services via the available hospitals. The island of New Providence on which is located the capital Nassau, is home to The Princess Margaret Hospital, the main acute care general public hospital on the island. Both In-patient and out-patient physiotherapy services are accessed through this hospital. The Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, a geriatric and mental health institution also offers in- and out-patient physiotherapy services. Doctors Hospital, the only acute care private hospital of its kind also offers both in- and out- patient physiotherapy services. The Rand Memorial Hospital, an acute care facility located in the city of Freeport, Grand Bahama, also offers acute care and out-patient ambulatory physiotherapy services. Most of the smaller islands are equipped with community clinics which are staffed by a nurse and a travelling physician. All cases that cannot be adequately addressed at the smaller medical facilities are airlifted to the larger hospitals in Nassau or Freeport for further management.
  Apart from a few private clinics in some of the smaller islands, most patients requiring physiotherapy intervention travel to Nassau or Freeport to access these services.
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  Physiotherapy care is physician referred as the current legislature does not support direct access at this time. Patients who require physiotherapy intervention must be seen by their primary care physician first before accessing the services. At times these patients may be referred to specialists before being referred for physiotherapy services. This can lead to a fairly long wait time in some instances, between the initial complaint and actual physiotherapy intervention, especially in the public system.
  
  

Therapist Preparation

      Degree/Credentialing

•  Physiotherapists practicing in the Bahamas have a minimum of a Bachelors of Science in Physical Therapy. As there are no physiotherapy training programs in the Bahamas, persons interested in training for the profession are required to travel abroad to complete their training. Persons frequently travel to the University of the West Indies, Kingston Jamaica to earn a three year Bachelors of Science degree in Physical Therapy at the only physiotherapy school in the English speaking Caribbean. Others travel to various schools in the USA, England or Australia. Also to fill the shortage of physiotherapists to serve the population a number of physiotherapists have been hired from The Phillipines, India, and other Caribbean islands, with either a BSc or Msc in Physical Therapy. A few PTs are presently completing or have completed t-DPT programs.
   

      Specialization

• At present there are no truly developed specialty areas in the Bahamas. Most physiotherapists practice generally in either or both acute care and orthopedic out-patient settings. There is however a pediatric neurodeveolpmental clinic and the PTs who work there see only infants and small children.
  

Professional Associations 

•  The Bahamas Association of Physiotherapists (BAPT) is the representative voice of Physiotherapy in the Bahamas.  The BAPT was formed in May 2000 when a group of concerned physiotherapists met to discuss the formation of the Health Professions Council and Health Professions Act.  It was thought that the legislature did not adequately protect the physiotherapy title and profession and concern arose about lack of consultation with a cross section of physiotherapy professionals.  The BAPT was formed to address these issues as well as a number of other challenges facing the physiotherapy community at the time. The BAPT presently consists of 17 members and is a member organization of the World Confederation of Physiotherapists ( WCPT).  It is presently involved with lobbying, suggesting ammendments of the Health Professions Act as well as assisting in continuing educational initiatives and fostering communication and comeraderie among physiotherapists in the Bahamas.

Information about the Patient Community

• What is the population these PT’s serve?

• What are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the population served?

Social/Cultural Influences

• What is the influence of the family on a patient's health status?

• What are the typical patient's living conditions, family dynamics, and cultural back ground?

Delivery of Care

• Is delivery of care provided in a timely manner?

• Special methods? Home health etc
  

Type of Health System

• Is it a national health system with universal access?
  

Payment System

• What methods to patient use to pay for service? (Insurance, bartering etc.)