Christopher Hall

It was a love of the outdoors and all things sporting-related that first drew Christopher Hall to his career path.

A Senior Physiotherapist at the Launceston General Hospital, Christopher grew up in Brisbane and studied at the University of Queensland before graduating with honours in 2016. He then worked at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital before moving to Tasmania in July 2020.  He hopes to commence a Master’s degree this year through Monash University.

It was during his studies that he first found an interest in the acute care setting, and the role physiotherapists play in helping patients recover during and after hospital stays.

“I love my job as it allows me to get to know patients as I work with them. It's a very busy role and requires me to be on my feet all day but, it's worth it to see a patient safely walk out of the hospital,” he said.

Now, Christopher is leading a pilot randomised control trial designed to test if a minimal inpatient physiotherapy program is safe and feasible to deliver, compared to an intensive physiotherapy program in hospital-admitted patients with COPD, admitted for an acute respiratory illness.

In 2018-19 the Launceston General Hospital had more than 600 patients admitted for the management of COPD, which is characterised by persistent and progressive airflow limitation. As the prevalence of this condition in our population increases, we need to be sure that treatments are timed correctly and given in the correct amount – like the prescription of medication.

Christopher is hoping this study will lead to a more thorough understanding of how much physiotherapy input patients need during their hospital stays and how that can be translated to update clinical practice.

“Like all healthcare, we aim to get the right treatment for the right patient at the right time,” he said.