Affordable new physiotherapy clinic gives Oxford Brookes students real-life experience
A new physiotherapy clinic at Oxford Brookes University will give students hands-on experience while offering inexpensive treatment to the community.
From March, the University will offer £15 physiotherapy sessions led by students who will provide assessments, treatments and consultations as part of their practice placements. All of the sessions will be supervised by registered physiotherapists.
The new clinic, based at Oxford Brookes’ Marston Road site, will help students on the BSc (Hons) and MSc (Pre-Reg) Physiotherapy programmes to complete the 1,000 practice hours they must have under their belts before they can graduate and register as professional physiotherapists.
Dr Carolyn Llewellyn, Head of the School of Sport, Nutrition and Allied Health Professions, said: “Throughout their courses, physiotherapy students complete six-week practice placements in different settings. These can be NHS hospitals and the private and voluntary sector. Our new clinic offers another type of clinical setting to help students get the experience they need.”
The new clinic comprises six fully-equipped treatment spaces and a small gym area where students will work under the supervision of Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy Dr Daniel Garnett and Senior Sports Physiotherapist, Ella Sissons.
Dr Garnett said, “The clinic will offer an alternative option for student physiotherapists to practise their skills. People can come with any musculoskeletal condition, related to bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and sporting injuries.
“This clinic is great for our students, offering them hands-on clinical experience while providing affordable physiotherapy for students and staff at Oxford Brookes and the wider Oxford community.”
Joe Bennett, a second year physiotherapy student said: “I am excited to learn more about musculoskeletal conditions in a place that I am familiar with. As a footballer myself, I am looking forward to helping people in the Oxford community with their sports injuries.”
Patients can book via the clinic’s website where they will fill in a triage form. They will then be offered a 60-minute initial consultation with advice on how their condition can be treated and/or managed, and a 45-minute follow-up appointment.
Patients can also book appointments with Dr Garnett or Ella Sissons which vary in price for Brookes Sport athletes and the general public, and may be observed by students.
To find out more and book an appointment visit Oxford Brookes Physiotherapy Clinic’s webpage.
Photo: An ankle is strapped by Ella Sissons, Senior Sports Physiotherapist and student practice educator.
Photo credited to Paul Tait