Meet our teams
Our orthopaedic therapy team works with children on ward G3 and on John Atwell day ward. We see patients who have had surgery, multilevel surgery or broken bones.
We help children to be safety discharged from hospital, and to use equipment to help them at home until they are better. The treatment we offer might include teaching a child to use a walking or transfer aid, exercise programmes, hydrotherapy and gym work.
Our children's musculoskeletal outpatient team sees patients referred by consultants or other outpatient clinics.
We assess children, then provide exercises or enrol them in our group sessions - these include core stability, knee class, gym club and spinal fitness group. Children can be treated in our children's therapy room, large gym or hydrotherapy pool.
Our specialist physiotherapists also work alongside consultants in other clinics, including
- spinal clinic
- Illizarov/Taylor spatial frame clinic
- knee clinic
- podiatry clinic
- rheumatology clinic
- orthopaedic cerebral palsy clinic.
Find us on B level, West Wing, Southampton General Hospital.
Our neonatal physiotherapy team provides inpatient and outpatient physiotherapy services for children under the age of two.
Inpatients
We provide early assessment and advice for babies at risk of developmental problems. We can offer specific assessment for respiratory management if required, as well as assessing any developmental musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions while babies are in the neonatal unit.
Positioning and handling advice for staff and parents is also provided.
We can give neurodevelopmental input for babies with complex medical needs who need longer stays in hospital. We also provide neurodevelopmental rehabilitation to for children under the age of two with acquired brain injury.
Our occupational therapists can help parents with car seats and appropriate seating options, and provide splinting for patients where this is needed.
Outpatients
We provide developmental assessments for babies at risk at problems, who have been discharged from the neonatal unit or have been referred from the developmental or paediatric clinics. Our team works closely with the community service to support children who need ongoing care at home.
We're a recognised rehabilitation centre working with children suffering from injuries or illnesses affecting their central nervous system including:
- head injuries
- stroke
- spinal cord injuries or tumours.
Inpatient rehabilitation for neurological patients can start on the paediatric intensive care unit or high dependency unit. Some patients will continue their rehabilitation with us throughout their stay in hospital, and may attend a set number of outpatient appointments after being leaving hospital.
Occupational therapists assess and refer children for appropriate equipment and seating, and liaise with community teams and wheelchair services. We focus on function and equipment to help our patients to be as independent as possible when they leave hospital.
We work with children in a variety of settings, from a child's bedside to our treatment room or in hydrotherapy. Patients may move from the hospital into Bursledon House to continue their rehabilitation when they are medically well enough.
Our therapists work as part of the team at Bursledon House, helping children and young people admitted for various reasons including chronic fatigue, chronic pain, obesity and anxiety. They help the team to provide a homely and welcoming environment, and use a structured programme of care and treatment in a non-medical setting.
Physiotherapists can also be found working alongside consultants in the botulinum toxin clinic, complex movement clinic and neuromuscular clinic.
Outpatient services
- Botulinum toxin clinic - joint assessment with specialist nurse and consultant.
- Chronic fatigue syndrome whilst awaiting Bursledon House (consultant referral only).
- Outpatient appointments for various neurological conditions, available before and after diagnosis (consultant referral only).
Our children's respiratory team treat children who need chest physiotherapy following surgery, for specific infections or prophylactic (preventative) treatment. We work as part of the wider ward team and in outpatient clinics. Our team covers
- paediatric intensive care
- paediatric high dependency
- children's wards G1, G2, G3 and G4 and E1
- Piam Brown
- John Atwell
- respiratory outpatients.
We also work in satellite and regional clinics across the south of England, supporting children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD).