Physiotherapy

Service overview

Our physiotherapists work with children and young people aged 0-19 years.

This specialised service supports the physical needs and development of children and young people presenting with developmental, neurological, musculoskeletal, orthopaedic and respiratory conditions who may also have complex long term medical, social and learning needs.

The team will provide assessment and treatment for children and young people to enable them to achieve optimal health and wellbeing, and to access and participate in the world around them. The team work closely with the child’s family/carers and any other professionals involved with the child with the focus on maximising the child or young person’s physical ability within their everyday activities at home and in education.

We help develop physical skills through play, use of specialised movement techniques, specific exercises and activities to work on difficulties with movement, posture and balance, reduced muscle strength and coordination or where movement quality is reduced or restricted. We aim to empower families to take control of their therapy needs and achieve self-management and independence as much as possible.

Physiotherapy intervention can involve offering advice, assessment, individual or group sessions, designing of therapy programmes for home and school and provision of specialised equipment, often in conjunction with Occupational Therapists.

The physiotherapy team work in a variety of settings, home, clinic, nursery and school as appropriate to the needs of the child.

The team work to support the needs of those children and young people with physiotherapy specified in their Education, Health and Care plan. They work closely with mainstream and special schools and can be contacted directly by parents/carers wishing to discuss their child’s therapy.

If you have any queries, questions and/or need more information regarding any of our paediatric therapy services, please contact Children and Family Health Surrey on 0345 222 1517. They can help guide parents/carers through the therapy pathway, investigate progress of referrals, signpost families to local and condition-specific support services, and answer questions about our services.

Further information

Further information is available from Contact, Scope, HemiHelp, Muscular Dystrophy UK and Active Surrey.

To refer

Children can be referred by their health visitor, GP, therapist, early years' service, paediatricians based in the local acute or tertiary hospital, paediatric audiology, CAMHS or other agencies.

Referrals are made via the Children and Family Health Surrey One Stop, a centralised referral and triage service for Surrey's specialist children's services that was launched in July 2017.

The three ways to refer are:

1. Through the Children and Family Health Surrey One Stop online portal https://sabpsecure.simplifyhealth.co.uk/. This is the same portal as the CAMHS Mindsight One Stop service

2. Call the Children and Family Health Surrey One Stop on 0300 222 5755. Open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. This is the same number as the CAMHS Mindsight One Stop service

3. Write to Children and Family Health Surrey One Stop, c/o Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, 1st Floor, Dominion House, Woodbridge Road, Guildford GU1 4PU.

For more information about One Stop visit: https://childrenshealthsurrey.nhs.uk/services/...

Teams and contact details

Mid Surrey Team (for families living in the boroughs of Banstead, Dorking, East Elmbridge, Epsom, Ewell, Leatherhead and Tattenham)

East Surrey Team (for families living in the boroughs of Redhill, Reigate, Merstham, Horley, Oxted, Caterham and Lingfield)

West Surrey Team (for families living in the boroughs of Woking, Farnham, Guildford, Haslemere, Runnymede, Spelthorne, West Elmbridge, Surrey Heath and Waverley)