About

Claire Clarke

Claire is a highly specialist physiotherapist with over 15 years experience working within the field of neurology and rehabilitation.

She has extensive experience of working with adults who have complex neurological needs from the early stages in their rehabilitation to helping them manage their condition long-term. She feels privileged to share the journey with her patients, spending time to understand what is important to them to create an individually tailored treatment approach, maximising independence in the tasks that are important to them.

Claire prides herself on her excellent communication skills, understanding the importance of this at every stage of rehabilitation from close working relationships with local hospitals to community teams and family members. She is a highly skilled therapist who has particular expertise in the areas of spasticity management, gait re-education, postural management, upper limb rehabilitation, hydrotherapy and exercise therapy.

Claire has gained a wealth of knowledge and specialist skills in her career working in acute hospitals and rehabilitation settings such as the Oxford Centre for Enablement where the vision for Access to Rehab began.

Claire now devotes her time solely to Access to Rehab, so that rehabilitation doesn’t have to stop in the hospital but can continue into your own home and local community.

Jane McKinnon

Jane is a Clinical Specialist with over 20 years experience in neurological rehabilitation. She has a passion for evidence-based practice, research and development and professionally supporting others.

She works with professionals sharing her expert knowledge working with adults who have complex presentation. She teaches and presents to a range of audiences, covering many different topics. She has invaluable professional networks within the field, essential in remaining contemporary within an ever changing body of practice. She is an active member of the Occupational Therapy professional body, representing her region as an officer for the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

Within her own practice she is able to work across many domains carrying out expert and efficient assessment and treatments of the upper limb, cognition and perception, posture and seating and working with people who may have behaviour that challenges. Jane has developed skills working with those who have a prolonged disorder of consciousness (PDOC) and is one of few advanced therapists outside the Royal Hospital of neuro-disability certified to use the Sensory Modality Assessment and Rehabilitation Technique (SMART).

Jane enjoys the opportunity to bring her knowledge as a hand therapist to assess and splint the arm/hand following a neurological impairment. She brings her energy and vision for Access To Rehab to the team with excellent skills in written and verbal communication, consultation work and therapy to effectively deliver the very best rehabilitation to people who have experienced a neurological condition and to family and others also affected.

Hannah Williamson

Hannah is a highly specialist Occupational Therapist with over 22 years experience within the field of neurology and neurological rehabilitation and has worked within the acute, community and rehabilitation settings. She qualified in 1997 from Oxford Brookes University and has a wealth of experience in all areas of rehabilitation. She enjoys the supervision of junior staff and students to aid their professional development.

Hannah works within the private sector as a director at Access To Rehab and also within the NHS. She prides herself on understanding the needs of her clients and their families and strives to give the best possible treatment and care to those she treats. She has excellent communication skills, a wealth of knowledge and is creative and dynamic within her approach.

Hannah has highly specialist skills in the range of clinical areas within neurological rehabilitation and was proud to gain advanced assessor level in the sensory modality assessment and rehabilitation technique (SMART) which aids to assess and treat individuals with prolonged disorders of consciousness. She is highly skilled in all areas of assessing and treating cognition and perception and behaviours that challenge. She is able to utilise all evidenced based treatment approaches to upper limb rehabilitation and has a logical and practical approach to increasing individuals independence through functional task practice.

Hannah has worked in a variety of settings during her career including Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, the acute stroke unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Rayners Hedge rehabilitation unit in Aylesbury and currently the Oxford Centre for Enablement.

Naomi Morgan

Occupational Therapist

Naomi has a wide range of experience and knowledge working with patients in the acute phase of their neurological event as well as ongoing rehabilitation, including the management of long term conditions. She is passionate about enabling patients to engage in activities that they want and need to do at home, in the community or at work. Naomi places particular emphasis on enhancing someone’s overall quality of life and emotional well-being. Naomi has experience across many assessment and treatment domains including upper limb rehabilitation, cognitive rehabilitation and fatigue management.

Shannon Woodley

Occupational Therapist

Shannon is a dynamic Occupational Therapist with neurological experience that brings energy, enthusiasm and a wide range of knowledge and skills to our team. She currently works within a neurological service, providing treatment for individuals that have been diagnosed with a neurological disorder. She is committed to incorporating evidence-based practise, utilizing both standardised and non-standardised assessments to formulate an effective treatment plan. She has valuable skills within upper limb rehabilitation, postural management, fatigue management and assessment and treatment of cognition in daily life. She has vast experience working with patients that experience anxiety, low mood and complex behavioural issues which require a compassionate and consistent approach to treatment. She has also developed several transferrable skills from previous employment in the acute setting such as a&e, elderly care, falls clinic, trauma and orthopaedics, medicine and surgery.

Carly Elphick

Physiotherapist

Carly has 10 years experience as a physiotherapist and has specialised in neurological physiotherapy for the last 8 years. She has spent most of her career working with clients who have suffered a stroke but also a range of head injury clients at the highly specialised rehabilitation unit in Oxford.She has a passion for increasing peoples’ participation in activity as much as possible to aid their recovery. She is highly professional with energy and enthusiasm all with a wonderful sense of humour. She is a strategic thinker with excellent skills in problem solving to work complex situations through, ensuring the very best outcome for those she treats.

Kim Durbin

Physiotherapist

Kim qualified in 2006 with a BSc(Hons) in Physiotherapy from Birmingham University. She has always had a passion for treating neurological conditions and commenced a specialist neurological rotation in Oxford in 2009. Following this, Kim worked as the team lead Physiotherapist in Neurosciences treating a range of complex acute neurological conditions before she subsequently took up her current position in neurological rehabilitation at the regional neuro rehab unit. She has also worked in the specialist posture management service in Oxford assessing and jointly fabricating solutions to complex postural problems. During her career, Kim has developed expertise in treating a wide range of neurological conditions. She has taught on various courses, spoken at a conference as well as practised extensively. Kim’s particular interests include splinting, casting, facial palsy rehabilitation, posture management and spasticity management. Kim is a committee member for ACPIN and regularly attends courses relevant to her practice.

Vasile Sabau

Rehabilitation Assistant

Vas is highly skilled in his role as a rehabilitation assistant, he brings extensive experience from previously working as a specialist associate nurse, he has undertaken physiotherapy training and continues to work as a rehabilitation assistant in the NHS in addition to his role with Access to Rehab. Vas treats all his clients with the utmost respect and care and strives to bring them the very best outcome by delivering excellence at all times. He is reliable, conscientious, hard working and brings a great sense of humour and kindness into all situations. He truly is an asset to have on the team.

Milly Waterman

Specialist Physiotherapist

Milly is a Specialist Physiotherapist with 7 years experience of working in Neurological Rehabilitation. She has worked across all areas of Neurological Physiotherapy within Oxfordshire from the acute hospitals, to Oxford’s Regional rehabilitation centre and in community settings. Milly enjoys working with people in their own homes and in the local community so she can identify what is really important to them and then use her specialist skills to work towards these goals. Milly is a member and committee member of ACPIN, a professional group for neurological physiotherapists which aims to promote evidence informed practice within the area of neurology. She regularly attends courses/lectures relevant to her area and is committed to her continuing professional development for the benefit of herself and her patients. Milly’s warm smile and enthusiasm to do the best for her patients always shines through in everything she does. She is highly professional and brings new innovative ideas to the team.