THE BOBATH CENTRE for Adults with Neurological Disability

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1 THE BOBATH CENTRE for Adults with Neurological Disability Physiotherapy Services If you have neurological disability, therapy at the Bobath Centre can help you re-establish the physical skills needed for active participation in everyday life, regardless of your age or how long you have had the disability. Our highly skilled therapy team have years of experience treating a wide variety of neurological conditions including stroke, MS, traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy. The Bobath approach to the treatment of adults with neurological disability has achieved international recognition as one of the foremost approaches to the treatment and management of people with neurological conditions. The aim of Bobath therapy is to improve or restore your function following neurological impairment. Treatment is tailored to your individual needs and is based upon an assessment of your abilities and analysis of your movement disorder. Specialised handling techniques help to reduce spasticity and facilitate more normal movement. Therapy sessions at the Bobath Centre focus on giving you the opportunity to experience more efficient and effective movement and on finding ways to enable you to incorporate these different movement strategies into your daily activities. If you would like an appointment at the Bobath Centre, this booklet will help to guide you. The Bobath Centre, Bradbury House, 250 East End Road, London N2 8AU Phone: Fax: Web:

2 Contents What is Bobath therapy?... 3 What kinds of conditions are treated?... 3 Who will provide my treatment?... 4 What types of appointment are available?... 4 What can I expect from a consultation?... 4 What can I expect from a 10-session block of therapy?... 5 How do I arrange an appointment?... 6 Treatment costs from 1 April Is it possible to have NHS funding?... 6 Other ways of funding treatment... 7 Will my local therapist be involved?... 7 How do I get to the Bobath Centre?... 8 Do you provide accommodation?... 8 What facilities do you provide?... 8 Any comments?... 8 Page 2 of 10

3 What is Bobath therapy? The Bobath approach to treatment can significantly assist people living with a neurological condition to re-establish the physical skills needed for everyday life. Therapy sessions at the Bobath Centre focus on giving you the opportunity to experience more efficient and effective movement and on finding ways to enable you to incorporate these different movement strategies into your daily activities. We will help you to understand your condition and, together with your relatives, to be an active participant in the problem-solving process. Using specialised handling techniques, Bobath therapists can reduce muscle stiffness and help to restore movement so that regular activities such as walking, dressing, or eating can be carried out with greater independence. The Bobath approach to the treatment of adults with neurological disability was pioneered by Mrs Berta Bobath in the 1950s. It has achieved recognition as one of the foremost approaches to the treatment and management of people with neurological conditions. The concept continues to be developed by Bobath therapists working in this specialist field. What kinds of conditions are treated? We specialise in treatment for people with: acquired neurological conditions caused, for example, by strokes or head injury, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury (incomplete) and Parkinson s. neuro-developmental conditions, such as cerebral palsy. During treatment, we: work with you to set goals that will improve your ability to function in everyday life. analyse what is limiting your activity in different situations and provide appropriate therapy. advise you on home activities. help to minimise the potential secondary effects of your condition. work with you to show you ways to manage your condition. advise on equipment that may be of assistance to you. recommend ways in which you can improve or maintain your fitness. Page 3 of 10

4 Who will provide my treatment? You will be treated by a senior therapist who is a specialist in neurology. The therapy team at the Bobath Centre includes therapists with experience of treating adults with a variety of acquired neurological conditions and cerebral palsy as a lifelong condition. As a minimum standard, our adult physiotherapists have taken a recognised three-week adult Bobath course in neurology; our current therapists are vastly more experienced. The skill mix of therapists at the Bobath Centre provides the best possible knowledge base for managing the whole spectrum of neurological conditions treated at the Centre. What types of appointment are available? Initially we offer two types of appointment: - a 1½ hour consultation and report with a senior therapist for advice on treatment or - a 10-session block of assessment and treatment (one session of at least 45 minutes per day) often taken over a two-week period What can I expect from a consultation? A consultation is an appointment of approximately 90 minutes in which we focus on: your current needs and specific aspects of treatment, and giving you advice on therapeutic management of your condition. During the consultation we may use equipment that enhances your activity, but the focus of a consultation is on therapy and not directly to address equipment needs. Following your consultation we will send you a report which usually includes suggestions for home activities. We will copy the report to your doctor and local therapist, if appropriate. If your local NHS has funded the consultation, they may also request a copy of the report. After an initial consultation appointment, there are various options for further therapy. a course of therapy may be offered regular treatment sessions may be offered to people who live within easy reach of the Bobath Centre daily therapy is available on a short-term basis for those who live further away Page 4 of 10

5 What can I expect from a 10-session block of therapy? A course of treatment usually consists of 10-sessions of assessment and treatment in which the therapy is provided by a Bobath physiotherapist. The therapy will be on an individual basis with each treatment session lasting at least 45 minutes. The 10-session course may be taken over an intensive two week period, one session a day, Monday to Friday. Alternatively, if you live within easy commuting distance of the Centre you might take your sessions over a longer period, for example twice a week over a 5-week period. Assessment: During the first appointment our therapist will spend time getting to know you. They will ask many questions about what you can do, what you find difficult, and about the things that you would like to be able to do. Our therapist will document their findings during this detailed assessment of your condition. Identifying goals: We may also use some specific standardised assessments and outcome measures to look at some areas in more detail. If you are in agreement we may also take some video of how you move. We will identify goals with you, which will provide a focus for therapy and will be evaluated by the end of the therapy block. Therapy: Therapy sessions will involve a variety of activities, some of which will be considered useful to be continued at home to enhance and progress functional skills. These will be demonstrated to you and there will be an opportunity for you to try these out under the guidance of the therapist until you feel confident to continue. After therapy: Following your course of treatment, we will send you a report including suggestions for home activities. We will also send a copy to your doctor. If your local NHS has funded the course of treatment, they may also request a copy of the report. After a course of therapy, there are various options for further therapy. a follow-up course of therapy may be offered; regular treatment sessions may be offered to people who live within easy reach of the Bobath Centre; daily therapy may be offered on a short-term basis for those who live further away. Page 5 of 10

6 How do I arrange an appointment? If you would like an appointment please ask your doctor or consultant to send us a referral letter addressed to: The Director of Therapy Services, The Bobath Centre, 250 East End Road, London N2 8AU The letter should contain the following information: details of your related medical history including medication any current treatment you are undergoing the type of appointment requested We accept doctors referrals for people who live in the UK and from all other countries. All correspondence and documents should be in English. Is it possible to have NHS funding? Treatment costs may be covered by the NHS if you are a permanent resident in the UK. If you are coming to the Bobath Centre from overseas you will be paying for your own treatment as NHS funding is not available for people who are not permanently resident here. The NHS has recently undergone extensive reorganisation. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) replaced primary care trusts on 1st April There are over 200 CCGs and each one operates slightly differently. What you can do to find out if NHS funding is possible The first thing you should do is to talk to your GP about whether it is possible to arrange an application for NHS funding for treatment at the Bobath Centre. We are finding that applications to the NHS can take three to four months or more and there is no guarantee of funding being approved. If NHS funding has been requested by your doctor, we will contact you to arrange an appointment once we have written confirmation from the CCG or your doctor that NHS funding has been agreed for you to have therapy at the Bobath Centre. Page 6 of 10

7 Other ways of funding treatment If NHS funding is not available for your treatment at the Bobath Centre, you could think about the following options: Using private insurance cover If you have private health insurance it may be worth checking to see if you would be covered for treatment. You will need to be certain that your policy covers treatment at the Bobath Centre, so you will need to contact your insurance provider direct regarding your policy. If you are covered under your policy, we will expect you to pay our fees and then reclaim payment from your insurance company. We will provide appropriate invoices/receipts to facilitate this. Fundraising to pay for treatment You can choose to fundraise to help pay for your therapy at the Bobath Centre. We have put together some information on ways of raising funds to help you get started. Further information is available on our website Funding treatment yourself Treatment at the Bobath Centre can be self-funded. We ask you to pay before treatment takes place full details of how to pay will be given in the letter offering you an appointment. Payments can be made by bank transfer, debit/credit card or cheque. If you are coming to the Bobath Centre from overseas you will be paying for your own treatment as NHS funding is not available for people who are not permanently resident in the UK. An administration fee is payable by people coming to the Bobath Centre from outside the European Union. Treatment costs from 1 April 2014 Consultation with a senior therapist: session course of treatment (usually taken over 2-weeks): 1,260 Includes one treatment session a day, for ten sessions, plus a report on the treatment given and recommendations for future management, which will be supplied to you and your referring doctor. Charge for treatment in addition to the minimum - per session: 105 On going weekly treatment - per session: 105 Administration charge for all non-european Union patients 360 The fees above include any letters or reports and/or the Home Programme Treatment Plan. If two therapists work with you an additional charge may be made. Page 7 of 10

8 Will my local therapist be involved? We are keen to liaise with local therapists. Please let us know if you would like your local therapist to be invited to attend. How do I get to the Bobath Centre? The Bobath Centre is in north London and by car is within easy reach of the M1 and North Circular Road (A406). We have a large visitors car park. Travelling by public transport, East Finchley underground station (Northern line) is seven minutes walk and there are good local bus links. Do you provide accommodation? The Bobath Centre is an out-patient centre so we do not provide accommodation. If you cannot travel daily to the Bobath Centre, you will need to arrange hotel or guest house accommodation. We have a list of local hotels, apartments and B&Bs available on request; you would need to check that any accommodation is suitable for you. What facilities do you provide? The Bobath Centre building is on one level and accessible throughout. We have a family kitchen with fridge-freezer and microwave and a washer-dryer in our laundry room - facilities to make a stay away from home as easy as possible. We have two disabled access toilets and a disabled access shower. Any comments? At the Bobath Centre we welcome any feedback that you give us about any aspect of your experience of our services. We want to know when things go wrong, so that they can be put right quickly. Staff at the Bobath Centre regard complaints as an opportunity to improve the service we provide. We recognise our duty to our patients, their carers, healthcare professionals, course participants, fundraisers, volunteers, purchasers of our services and the community of which we are part. Any formal complaint should be made in writing and be addressed to the Director of Administrative Services. We also like to know when things are going well; compliments are always passed on to the staff involved. Page 8 of 10

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10 The Bobath Centre for Adults with Neurological Disability Bradbury House 250 East End Road East Finchley London N2 8AU Tel: Fax: Website: Registered charity number: Page 10 of 10