Who is the service for?
The team supports children and young people who are inhibited by physical difficulties to work towards the best outcomes for participation in daily life.
Does our service see all children and young people who might need therapy?
We are a specialist physiotherapy and occupational therapy service. Some children's/young person's needs are funded for and better met by other services, such as the Local Authority Occupational Therapy Team or the Outpatient Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Service at the Royal Derby Hospital.
To ensure you access the right service for child or young person please check the information below to see if your needs will be met elsewhere;
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Children with global learning difficulties where physical skills are in line with other skills |
Movement skills typically develop alongside other skills such as cognitive understanding. The child's education provider should be able to support parents to identify appropriate goals and activities for global developmental progress. You may also access help from: Children's Intellectual Disability Team | Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Fundation Trust(derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk |
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Children who are experiencing motor difficulties only related to attention and behavioural problems |
Please see your GP, Paediatrician or education provider who may consider a referral to; Specialist ADHD nursing service | Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk) |
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Joint aches and pains unrelated to long term physical conditions |
Please see your GP or Paediatrician who may consider a referral to a different physiotherapy service |
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Juvenile chronic arthritis |
Please see your GP or Paediatrician who may consider a referral to a different physiotherapy service |
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Chronic fatigue and Long Covid |
Please see your GP or Paediatrician who may consider a referral to a different physiotherapy service |
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Hypermobility (including Ehlers Danlos) syndrome as the main reason for referral |
Please see your GP or Paediatrician who may consider a referral to a different physiotherapy service |
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Medically unexplained illness |
Please see your GP |
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Respiratory conditions |
Please see your Paediatrician who may consider a referral to a different physiotherapy service |
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Children in need of sensory intervention |
See below "Sensory Pathway referrals" |
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Children in need of mental health assessment |
Please see your GP or Paediatrician who may consider a referral to; Children's Mental Health Services (CAMHS) - Derby and South Derbyshire | Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk) |
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Children and young people in need of only splints, a special car seat or a wheelchair |
Please see your GP who may consider referral to; DerbyDrivAbility - Access Assessments | University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS (uhdb.nhs.uk) |
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Children and young people requiring adaption to the home |
If you're under 18 years old or have a child under 18 years old and there are difficulties in accessing your home or facilities in your home, then your Local Authority Occupational Therapy team may be able to help |
Who is the best person to make a referral onto the pathway?
A referral is essentially a "request for help", and this should be done by whoever has identified that Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy might be beneficial. This could be a professional such as a Paediatrician or SENCO. It might also be a parent or young person (please note any young person under 16 should have an adult with parental responsibility with them when making contact with the service).
SENCO referrals
When making a request for help about a child or young person with potential motor coordination difficulties, please first consider whether they would benefit from the "Active Hands" and/or "Physical Literacy" programmes. If these have not been applied first when appropriate, the clinician will be unlikely to recommend specialist assessment until these have been completed.
Sensory pathway referrals
Parents and carers can contact us directly for a link to our online sensory education presentation and associated useful documents. This must be done by phone.
Please call 0300 123 4586 option 2 then option 5.
How to request help from the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Team
From 4th May 2023 we will no longer be accepting written referrals.
If you have identified that Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy may help a child or young person, who is not better helped elsewhere (see above), then please book a phone call with one of our experienced clinicians to discuss this further by clicking on the appropriate link below.
For Physiotherapy; DHCFT Children and Young Adults Physiotherapy Requests (office365.com)
For Occupational Therapy; DHCFT Children and Young Adults Occupational Therapy Requests (office365.com)
What can the parent/guardian do while waiting for an appointment?
When you make a "request for help" and speak to a therapist they may be able to point you to relevant resourses for the child or young person's situation.
Don't forget to check out our Physiotherapy Facebook page and our "Additional Resources" section of our website.
Responsibilities after a request for help is made
It is the responsibility of the requester to notify the service of any changes to the child or young person's circumstances. Please contact 111 or 999 if you need urgent medical care.
Contact us
Community Paediatric Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy
St Pauls House
Enterprise Way
Jubilee Business Park
Derby
DE21 4BB
Tel: 0300 123 4586 (Options 2 & 5)
Email: Dmh-tr.therapyenquiries@nhs.net
Team availability: 8.30am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.