Early rehabilitation in acute hospitals

Strong evidence

The robust evidence base shows the importance of early initiation of specialised rehabilitation (2). According to the 2024 report by the National Audit Office of Norway, little progress has been made in this area since 2012 (3). International studies suggest that early rehabilitation following acute illness or injury may be associated with improved functional outcomes (4–6). Despite this, rehabilitation in Norway's acute hospitals is often delivered by a single discipline – primarily physiotherapists – and rarely by an interdisciplinary team.

Since establishing its early rehabilitation provision, Vestfold Hospital Trust has systematically mapped patients' health-related quality of life and functional outcomes. Our unpublished data indicate that in 2025, patients showed, on average, clinically meaningful improvements in physical function during early rehabilitation, measured using the Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment Tool (CPAx) (7).

Health-related quality of life was assessed using the measuring tool EQ-5D (8). The scores indicate that early rehabilitation primarily improves physical function and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Furthermore, Barthel-100 scores (9) increased from admission to discharge, reflecting a substantial reduction in the need for assistance with ADLs.