Emma Bamford

Chief Investigator
Hand Therapist, Extended Scope Practitioner, Pulvertaft Hand Centre, Derby

Emma qualified as a physiotherapist in 2006. She has worked in the Pulvertaft Hand Centre since 2008 and became appointed as an ESP in 2018. She sits on the panel of the BSSH trauma committee as a therapist representative and also organises the Midlands regional hand therapy network.

Her main interests are treating patients with acute traumatic injuries, such complex fractures and tendon injuries with a specific interest in flexor tendon injuries.

In 2019 Emma was an invited speaker at the BSSH trauma symposium to talk about what therapy can do to improve the management of traumatic injuries. She was also invited to be part of an expert panel at the European Hand conference in September 2020 to discuss recent developments in the
management of flexor tendon injuries.

Emma also has a keen interest in research and spent 2 years working in the dedicated research team and the Pulvertaft Hand Centre. Projects included the use of acupuncture for CMCJ arthritis, and also looking at the use of splints for the treatment of the cubital tunnel syndrome. In 2019 Emma was awarded a grant from the British Association of Hand Therapists to carry out some work investigating the use of splints in the rehabilitation of patients following flexor tendon repairs. She recently has been involved in carrying out and writing a systematic review on the outcome measures used in reporting of flexor tendon repairs.

Prof Avril Drummond

Co Chief Investigator

Professor of Healthcare Research, Lead for Rehabilitation Research Group, and occupational therapist, University of Nottingham

Avril is Professor of Healthcare Research and an occupational therapist. She is Fellow of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

Avril’s main areas of interest are conducting randomized controlled trials and mixed methods research and she has conducted evaluations across a wide range of rehabilitation specialities. She has conducted trials and service evaluations of, for example, stroke unit care, pre-discharge home visits, falls reduction/management, the use of hip precautions, and interventions to support people returning to work. She has published around 180 peer reviewed research papers and has had grant income of around £20 million.

Hannah Berntsson

Study Manager

Hannah is based at the Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit and has experience of clinical trials and other research across many different areas of medicine.

Emma Morvan

Research Assistant

Emma is based at the Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit helping coordinate and support the research project.