Last month Danny Chambers, MP for Winchester visited Hobbs Rehabilitation along with Chloe Hayward, INPA’s Operations Director. This year Hobbs are celebrating their 20th anniversary of providing rehabilitation for neurological conditions and now employ over 100 multidisciplinary staff at eight sites. Services include clinics for concussion and vestibular issues, services for facial palsy, chronic pain and amputees as well as multidisciplinary neurorehabilitation and hydrotherapy.
Danny chatted to several patients including Jeremy who had a brain tumour followed by a number of strokes, and Ian who suffered from a complex stroke. Ian’s wife Elizabeth gave a useful insight into the effect Ian’s stroke had on their family life and relationship. Both discussed the importance of the team’s approach and how in the longer term the rehabilitation they received has led to less input from carers and other support.
“It was inspiring to see first-hand the incredible work done by the multidisciplinary team of experts at Hobbs Rehabilitation and the MiNT Academy to help patients with brain injuries recover to the point that they can reclaim their independence,” commented Danny. ” I was also extremely impressed at the contribution the team make to international scientific research – meaning the impact of their work reaches beyond the individual patients to benefit others too.”
Chrissy Bibby, Hobbs Professional Lead for Speech and Language Therapy, explained to the visitors how Hobbs are able to provide flexibility in terms of the type, location and intensity of therapy.
Hobbs are also involved with a range of universities providing teaching, placements and collaboration in research and have been trailblazers in emerging neurotechnology. In addition to providing a range of equipment, they also established MINT (Masterclass in Neurotechnology) a platform for research, development and clinical education, which runs an annual conference.
Helen Hobbs, a founder of the company, talked about Hobbs robust relationship with the NHS receiving referrals from a large network of NHS and ICB providers. Helen was invited to join Hampshire and Isle of Wight Allied Health Professionals Council and plays an active role in the AHP faculty.
In are role as Operations Director at INPA, Chloe re-emphasised the importance of rehabilitation. She highlighted that rehabilitation saves money. The evidence base verifies that there is a greater chance of returning to school or education, less chance of family breakdown and less care required when specialist rehabilitation is employed.
The independent sector have historically led the way in rehabilitation and provide more beds than the NHS. Many people are not offered rehabilitation, and many funders do not understand what is seen as high cost low volume service, stated Chloe.
