SDR Physiotherapy was established in order to provide expert assessment, advice and guidance for patients and their families delivered by two of the UK’s most highly trained and experienced SDR physiotherapists. We currently work at Bristol Children’s Hospital, which allows us to provide your child with the most up to date assessment and treatment techniques learned from the UK’s longest running contemporary SDR service. Our services are entirely patient centered and are provided by our expert physiotherapy team. We offer end-to-end care throughout the whole patient journey from before the formal assessment right through to adulthood and beyond.Jenny Smith
Jenny is currently the SDR physiotherapy lead at Bristol Children’s Hospital. She was originally invited by Mr Kristian Aquilina to help set up the service from it’s infancy, which has now treated over 110 children. She is the lead physiotherapist in the multidisciplinary team, responsible for formal decision making. Whilst on the National steering group for NHS England SDR CtE, Jenny was instrumental in assuring community therapy is available for children who are funded for SDR. She is an accredited FES user and is pioneering it’s use for children following SDR and is also a qualified botulinum toxin injector.
- Graduated 2000 BSc (hons) Physiotherapy HPCP registered, Member of the CSP and APCP.
- Worked in paediatric physiotherapy for over 10 years in both community and acute settings.
- A member of the expert clinicians in the UK on the NHS England Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE).
- Whilst studying at master’s level injector therapy, Jenny was awarded the Allegan student prize at Plymouth University.
- Attended the advanced ESMAC (European Society of Movement in Children) course 2007.
- Formed a parternship in 2014 between Salisbury Hospital and Bristol Children’s Hospital to establish the use of FES following SDR in children nationwide.
- In collaboration with her orthopaedic colleagues in Bristol, Jenny was involved in setting up the Human Analysis Lab (gait lab) at the University of West of England.
- Proficient at serial casting and orthotic management.
- Trained to deliver specialised hydrotherapy for children with disabilities.
Alison Burchell
Alison has been working as a senior physiotherapist in the SDR service at Bristol Children’s Hospital since 2011 and is also the lead physiotherapist in the Complex Movement Disorder Service. She is on the National steering group for NHS England SDR CtE and has been instrumental in developing the Bristol tone management trial protocols and business case to enable more children the opportunity to benefit from SDR. She has over 10 years paediatric physiotherapy experience in London teaching hospitals before moving to Bristol to join the team and has treated over 100 children through the service.
- Graduated 2000 BSc (hons) Physiotherapy HPCP registered, Member of the CSP and APCP.
- Worked as a band 7 paediatric physiotherapist at The Royal London Hospital and Evelina London Hospital gaining invaluable experience in neurology and neurodisability.
- Bobath trained.
- Proficient in serial casting and orthotic management.
- Ponseti trained (casting) and fitting Pavlik harnesses.
- Senior physiotherapist in spinal orthopaedics at Evelina London Hospital managing complex tertiery referrals.
- Currently involved in RCT multi-centre trials.
- Presented at international conferences and published in peer reviewed journals.
- Organised the National physiotherapy steering group for ITB and contributed to the National ITB document.
- Proficient at 2D and 3D gait analysis.
- Elaine Owen orthotic management trained.
