Sheffield Children’s physiotherapy service launches at AWRC

Health Wellbeing

From left, physiotherapists Verity Goodchild, Harriet Gowthorpe, AWRC Receptionist Claire Parkinson and Chloe Atkinson, Operations Manager at the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, at the first clinic held in the AWRC.

The AWRC is the flagship research centre at the heart of the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. Its vision is to improve the health and wellbeing of the population through innovations that help people move.

The physiotherapy department at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is using clinic rooms at Sheffield Hallam University’s Advance Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) bringing together patients, clinicians and researchers and offering an alternative to visiting the hospital or other Sheffield Children’s sites.

The clinics at the AWRC provide an alternative location for patients who may find it easier to access this area of the city, with a less medical biased environment and free parking outside the door.

It will also bring together experts in a range of disciplines and access to facilities and research that will encourage innovation and further collaborations between the University and the Trust.

Sarah Hill, Physiotherapist at Sheffield Children’s said: “We’re really looking forward to offering this alternative location for patients and families, as well as working in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University to provide this new space. It’s really great we can offer alternative locations for patients to suit them.

“A big bonus of being in the AWRC is that in the future we hopefully will have the ability to network with the research staff based there, being able to draw on their experience to facilitate any future research ideas my team has.”

Professor Robert Copeland, Director of the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, said: "The co-location of clinical services at the AWRC is part of the centres vision to transform lives through innovations that help people move. I'm delighted that we are starting this journey with the team at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

“By bringing together patients, clinicians and researchers from a range of disciplines, harnessing the facilities and culture of research and innovation at the AWRC, we have the opportunity to co-create solutions to ‘real-world’ problems that can then be scaled regionally, nationally and internationally. The team at the AWRC are very excited about this work, which represents the next phase of implementation of our strategy."

The physiotherapy team will still be offering appointments at Sheffield Children’s sites, tailoring the location to the individual needs of the patients.