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Meet the team Jenny Brown, Physiotherapy manager at Nuffield Health Shrewsbury Hospital How long have you been a physiotherapist? More years than I care to remember! I qualified from The Royal London Hospital in 1987 and have worked in both the NHS and Nuffield since then.
How long have you been with Nuffield Health Shrewsbury Hospital? I started at Nuffield Health Woking Hospital in 1993 and moved to Shropshire and started work at Shrewsbury in 2002. I made my 25-year anniversary with Nuffield Health last year.
How many do you have in your team? We have an established team at Shrewsbury, with six of us in outpatients and three on the ward. We also have a Physiotherapy Assistant, covering both an administrative role but also helping the physios on the ward.
Tell me about some of the specialities your team can offer We have physios that specialise in sports injuries having had 14 | Oswestry life
experience competing and working within professional sport. We have pelvic health specialists, who treat both male and female continence and pelvic pain, and see patients following gynae surgery here. We have physios that specialise and are qualified in Pilates. We also have a physio that has specialised in hand therapy, and sees our surgical patients following surgery. We can also treat chronic back and neck pains, post trauma and whiplash injuries, we can give advice on workstations and ergonomics. Two of us also offer acupuncture as a treatment modality, which can be extremely helpful with treating headaches.
What are some of the most common injuries or reasons patients come to see you? Excluding physiotherapy following surgery, we see mostly back and neck pain, followed probably by shoulder and knee conditions. We take referrals from GPs and consultants, but you can also refer yourself directly to see a physio, which means after a sporting injury you can get very quick access to assessment and treatment. If we think scans or consultant opinion is required, we can facilitate that here too, which can speed up the process to diagnosis.
Is physiotherapy a long- or short-term solution? Both really – obviously depending on the condition. We would always aim to treat the current condition, but we also aim to help prevent recurrence through advice on selfmanagement strategies and looking at the more global picture. I like to think physiotherapy has a holistic approach – we definitely assess the whole person – there is after all a whole body and person attached to that knee or shoulder pain!
What does a typical day in your life at work look like? The first duty of the day is to check the rooms are ready for our clinics,
We take referrals from GPs and consultants, but you can also refer yourself directly to see a physio, which means after a sporting injury you can get very quick access to assessment and treatment.”
that our IT systems are ready to go. I also check who is in each day and keep an eye of everyone’s diary to make sure we have cover for the ward, then we’re ready to go. Our patients are invited into our clinic rooms, are assessed or re-assessed from the last session and we always have an open discussion regarding goals and achievements. I always give patients something to work on at home – trying to make goals achievable and working towards their targets. During the day I try to catch up with colleagues to see how everyone’s day is going. We try to catch up together at lunch, which is an important part of the team bond. We do have to complete all our notes and reports electronically on the day – which does test my typing skills! I am fortunate that we have a very strong team with a great skill mix – so we can bounce ideas or discuss issues between us. I also help manage our team of physios at the Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing gym at Telford – where we have three individual treatment rooms. I try to touch base with them as much as I can too. Then it’s a 40-minute drive home – roof down and music on to wind down for the day, ready to start again tomorrow…
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Aico partners with the Electrical Distributors’ Association to support Apprentices At the start of June, Aico’s Apprentices commenced the Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA) Product Knowledge Programme, starting with the Customer Service module. At the end of this module the Apprentices will understand ‘What constitutes great customer service’, ‘Why getting it right first time is critical’ and ‘How to speak with more confidence to your customer’. The EDA has invested in the development of a brand new set of 12 distance-learning product knowledge modules. Created for anyone working in the electrotechnical supply chain, the modules are suitable for both new entrants and anyone who wants to improve their product skills. Each module delivers professional training on an electro-technical subject or product area, with businesses free to choose the number and combination of modules that best suits their team. Aico is an affiliate member of the EDA and Michael Wright, Product Development Manager of Aico has contributed to the content of the ‘Fire, Safety and Security Systems’
module which Apprentices will be undertaking next. They will also be studying the ‘Introduction to the Principles of Electricity’ and ‘IT and Data Infrastructure’. EDA CEO, Margaret Fitzsimons, explains why providing professional training is so important for the sector and how the development of this new programme has been central to the Association’s work over the last two years. “With more and more products flowing through the supply chain, it is important for businesses to have access to professional training that helps them deliver greater value,” explains Margaret, “There is no doubt that there is much to be done to promote career opportunities in the electro-technical sector, but for our sector to attract and retain talent, a bespoke, rigorous and flexible training programme that helps to build skills and knowledge is essential and that is what the EDA programme is all about.” Samuel Marston, Technical IT Apprentice of Aico comments “I am enjoying the EDA training as it is building my confidence and
Samuel Marston, Technical IT Apprentice, Aico
communication skills. The distance learning model is great as I can manage my study around my work and home life”. Colin Thaw, Managing Director of SBC Training mentioned, “SBC Training is honoured to be supporting Aico with their Apprenticeship development programme. The use of the EDA product knowledge modules further support the existing off the job training provided and we see this as a great opportunity to help provide synergy across the range of Apprenticeships that we provide for Aico. We are delighted that Aico have chosen to further invest in the development of their team in this way.”
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Oswestry life
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LAST WORD
Luke Smith of Imperium Personal Training How old are you?
in football too, if not as a player, as a coach.
Where do you live?
You’re more than a PT, do you consider yourself a businessman too?
29
I recently moved to Whittington
Have you always lived in Oswestry?
Not always, I moved to Preston when I was 18 to study for a Personal Training Degree at the University of Central Lancashire. I lived in Preston for four years and then moved over to Australia for nearly three years where I continued my personal training until moving back home to Oswestry.
What brought you back here?
Certainly not the weather. Unfortunately, my visa expired but it was definitely time to come back after not seeing my family or friends for nearly three years. I had some big ambitions, my main one being to set up Imperium Personal Training.
Tell us more about Imperium Personal Training?
I’d like to consider it a lot more than just a personal training service. With a background in sports science and nutrition I offer a wide range of services which are helping such a variety of people. I find myself accommodating for a lot of people who suffer with many forms of mental illness or functional limitations. I specialise in complete body transformations whilst offering small group training and circuit classes open to the public every week.
What made you want to get into the fitness industry?
I was always involved in sport growing up; representing Shrewsbury Town FC and Wales. After nothing came of the football, I put my focus on my career and my initial reason for getting into personal training was to help people like my grandparents who have had health scares and suffer with restricted mobility issues. A part of me still wanted to be involved 66
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Unintentionally maybe, after four months in business I set up another business called Transform In 4 Weeks with another local personal trainer. This was a summer prep bootcamp that specialised in quick results over a four-week period. I’m very ambitious and proactive, I’m currently working on a couple more projects which hopefully should launch before the year is out.
Tell us about some of the partnerships you have with different businesses around the town?
The two main businesses I work alongside are Evolution Gym and Active 8 Gym where I work every day, without them I wouldn’t be where I am now. Just recently I was fortunate enough to sponsor the Oswestry Colour Run, working alongside the British Ironworks Centre which was great fun. I have had some great support from other local companies like Now Group Oswestry, who have taken care of all my advertising, and several local companies who have sponsored my bootcamps, such as Sun City, Nicholas Llewelyn, LACE Carpentry, The Nail & Beauty Cabin, and lastly Bar Incognito, all of which have put on some great offers for my clients over the past four months.
What do you like best about what you do?
Seeing people achieve results they never imagined were possible. Every day is a new day with new challenges and no day or session is the same. There’s many satisfying moments in my job, but seeing people benefit mentally from my sessions seems to give me a bigger sense of achievement. I think so many people underestimate the importance of regular exercise and how it can improve
cognitive function whilst having a positive impact on depression, anxiety, stress, memory and boosting your overall mood.
What are some of your career highlights so far?
At university I worked for Preston North End FC as a sport nutritionist/sport scientist which was a brilliant experience, I then went on to work for Wigan Warriors working as part of their strength and conditioning team. Other than that, I would have to say this past six months has been my most memorable; setting up Imperium, sponsoring a body building show, being involved with the colour run and launching the bootcamps. It’s been an intense year.
Where are your favourite places to visit in the town?
As a personal trainer we cannot survive without our coffee every morning! I probably spend as much time in Liar Liar as I do my living room, if not more! Other than that, I’d have to say I find myself eating at Townhouse a lot when the sun’s out.
You’re still very young, what have you got planned for your business next?
It’s just the start for Imperium, with only being six months in business I’ve had to manage my time quite thoroughly. Now everything’s calmed down I’m looking to be more actively involved with local schools and I will continue to improve and expand my bootcamps and services. I’m massively grateful for all the support off the local businesses and I’ll be hoping to be working alongside a few more soon.
Finally, how can readers contact you?
Facebook: @ImperiumPT Instagram: @Imperiumpersonaltraining Email: Imperiumpersonaltraining@gmail.com Mobile: 07931 301 167
Charlotte Ruscoe
charlotte@oswestrylife.co.uk