Hydrotherapy service in Dudley reopens thanks to dedicated patient
A specialist therapy service in Dudley which was closed down has been re-launched after a dedicated patient won the backing of hospital bosses.
The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust is providing a hydrotherapy service for patients with neurological conditions after hearing first-hand of its benefits from a patient with multiple health needs. The service has been named in honour of campaigner Liam Carbery and was launched with the unveiling of a plaque this week.
Liam, from Dudley, was born with spina bifida occulta and also has dystonia, a movement disorder that causes tremors and spasms. He began campaigning for hydrotherapy for all neurological patients after having first benefitted from it as a teenager in 2013.
He was supported by the Trust’s chief operating officer Karen Kelly, chief executive Diane Wake and head of therapy services Karen Lewis, and Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group. Two new specialist therapists have been appointed.
Karen Kelly said: “The sessions ceased about seven years ago and that was purely down to us no longer having the specialist therapy staff available.
“Due to the tenacity of just one man, Liam Carbery, this service is now relaunching and will benefit many, many patients.
“I met with Liam, along with Karen Lewis, and found him to be articulate, passionate and incredibly persuasive. He has worked really hard negotiating with the Trust and the commissioners explaining the benefits of the neurological hydrotherapy service.
"This is an impressive example of people power."
Liam said he had had a 12-week hydrotherapy session when he was around 16 and found that it made a ‘massive difference’ to the effects of his physiotherapy, making him much more supple and even able to use a frame to stand.
“The combined use of hydrotherapy and physiotherapy made a big difference. When it finished I was back to square one – the physio is not as beneficial as it is in water," he said.
“I have to take muscle relaxing medication and I had to up the dose.
“I wrote to Diane Wake and Karen Kelly asking for a meeting. With all the pressures on the NHS I didn’t think it would be high on the list of priorities but when I met Karen Kelly and Karen Lewis it inspired them to go the extra mile.
“They put me in touch with Dudley CCG who agreed to recommend it. It’s a big achievement, not just for me but for other patients as well.
“It’s a team effort – we all worked together to make it happen.”
Karen Lewis said they had already identified 21 existing patients who would benefit from the therapy, which would be delivered through two-hour weekly sessions.
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted we are able to put these sessions on, and the fact that it has come from a patient is so special. Being able to work with Liam, the CCG and the therapy team to make it happen has been so rewarding.”
Liam is under the care of Dudley Rehabilitation Service and sees a specialist dietitian, speech and language therapist, community nurse manager, occupational therapist and physios at Corbett Outpatient Centre.
“The team have been fantastic. They don’t only support me but also my family as well,” he added.
