Helen Bateman – BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
Helen graduated from Brunel University in 1999 and has gained experience in orthopaedics, musculoskeletal outpatients and rheumatology before she specialised in hand therapy at the Pulvertaft Hand Unit in 2006.
She enjoys treating complex hand trauma and combines her widespread knowledge and experience to optimise patient outcome.
Helen is working towards her MSc in Advanced Hand Therapy at Derby University and is applying to be an Accredited Hand Therapist. Helen has presented on BAHT level I courses and enjoys her role in education.
Victoria Jansen – Grad Diploma Physiotherapy, MA
Victoria graduated as a physiotherapist in 1996, and after her rotational post, initially specialised in burns, plastics and trauma working in the Burns units at Roehampton, and East Grinstead as well as abroad in Auckland, New Zealand and Singapore. She has worked in the Pulvertaft Hand Unit, in Derby since 2000, and her caseload includes both acute hand trauma and chronic conditions. Victoria has a dual role as both a senior hand therapist and a researcher.
Her special interest is in the therapy management of hand OA and wrist pain, with thumb OA being the focus of her current research activity. She has presented her research at national (BAHT) and international conferences (IFSSH and EFSSH), and published her work in peer reviewed journals. In 2014, she was awarded a HEE/NIHR ICA Programme Masters Studentship and completed a Master’s in Research Methods at the University of Nottingham. Victoria has been awarded a further HEE scholarship to prepare a PhD application. She is committed to developing the evidence base for hand therapy practice.
Liz Radbourne – BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
Liz qualified from the University of Teesside 1999 and specialised in hand therapy in 2001. Liz has been actively involved in teaching on the BAHT level I course for a number of years and is herself a member of the British Association of Hand Therapy (BAHT). Whilst working at the Pulvertaft Hand Unit Liz divides her time between clinical and research work.
Her current research focus is investigating the therapeutic management of wrist ligamentous injuries. She particularly enjoys management of fractures, joint replacements and tendon repairs.
Ellen Bramall – BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy
Ellen qualified in 2009 and has worked in Leicester and Derby before coming to the Hand Unit in 2012. Ellen has specialist experience in orthopaedic and general surgery, including critical care, with additional experience in elderly medicine and paediatrics.
Ellen enjoys managing complex cases and has a particular interest in pain management.
Chloe Pilbeam – BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
Chloe graduated in 2004 and specialised in the treatment of hand injured patients in 2007. Her specialist interests are wrist conditions, distal radius fractures and tendon injuries. She uses her musculoskeletal outpatient knowledge, together with her physiotherapeutic exercise and pain management skills to formulate patient specific rehabilitation programmes.
Chloe is one of the Clinical Educators, delivering hand teaching sessions, to undergraduate medical students. Chloe started a part time role in the Hand Unit Research Team in September 2014, investigating the role of therapy in Cubital Tunnel Syndrome and extensor tendon repair rehabilitation. Chloe has experience of leading service improvement projects and outcome audits.
Chloe has completed several BAHT level 2 courses, enjoys presenting on the BAHT level 1 at Derby and is presently studying towards her MSc in Physiotherapy.
Helen Reader
Helen graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 1995 and worked as a rotational Physiotherapist at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary until1998, when she joined the Pulvertaft Hand Centre as a Hand Therapist.
She is qualified to use acupuncture and works with patients with wrist injuries, as well as running a wrist fracture workshop for patients,
Helen regularly gives presentations on the Derby BAHT Level I and has also presented on the Derby Fracture Fixation Course for surgeons.
Katie Horton
Katie qualified as a physiotherapist in 2011 from Sheffield Hallam University having worked as a physiotherapy assistant previously. She began to work at Chesterfield Royal Hospital working as rotational physiotherapist, and then came to Derby in 2012 and continued her professional development, gaining experience in musculoskeletal out-patients, intensive care, learning disabilities and hand therapy. In 2013 she secured a post in the Pulvertaft Hand Centre and began to specialise in hand therapy.
Katie is highly specialised in treating patients with acute injuries such as tendon repairs, fractures, nerve repairs, ligament injuries and soft tissue lacerations. She can also effectively manage chronic conditions such as wrist pain, OA, dequervains and tendinopathies.
She can provide advice regarding off the shelf splints and fabricate custom made thermoplastic splints where necessary. Katie has a special interest in taping techniques and can advise you on the application of kinesiology and dynamic taping for a wide variety of conditions. Katie has been an integral part in setting up the upper limb conditioning exercise group which is proving to optimise our patient rehabilitation journey.
Louise Amandini
Louise graduated in 1998 from the University of Hertfordshire and has gained experience in all core physiotherapy areas working in hospitals in North London with specialist experience at the Royal National Orthopaedic hospital in pain management and the shoulder unit. In 2004 she moved to Derby and specialised into MSK outpatients.
Louise currently has a post-split between hand therapy and MSK outpatients and specialises into upper limb conditions and chronic pain.
Louise has taught on shoulder courses for therapists and GP’s and more recently on the BAHT level 1 course.Sarah Harlington
Sarah qualified from the University of Birmingham in 2012 and joined the trust in 2013. Following the completion of junior rotations, Sarah secured a secondment in hands in 2016.
She now splits her time between out-patients and hand therapy. Within hand therapy, Sarah enjoys treating a variety of conditions and injuries and has a particular interest in returning patients to sport and activities.
She has been involved with organising the upper limb exercise class in the department, which has achieved positive results for patients confidence and function.Roz Lees
She graduated from Kings College London in 2016 with a degree in physiotherapy.
From there she started working as a rotational physiotherapist in the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. She then moved in 2018 to Derby and worked as a physiotherapist on the trauma and orthopaedic wards. In 2021 she decided that she would like a change in career path and started working in the Pulvertaft hand unit, first as a band five and now as a band six.
This is the first-year teaching on the BAHT level one course. She is looking forward to this as has enjoyed the small amount of teaching, She has been able to do such as student and junior staff teaching.
In her spare time she is a keen climber, hand injuries are commonplace in the climbing scene, so her hand therapy knowledge serves well on days off too.Siobhan Dziakonski
Siobhan qualified as a Physiotherapist in 1999 from the University of Hertfordshire. She worked in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy after completing core rotations. She began working in Hand Therapy whilst working in Cheltenham in 2005 and has specialised in Hands since.
She joined the Pulvertaft Hand Centre in June 2021. She has completed her BAHT Level 1 and numerous BAHT Level 2 courses. She is currently studying for her MSc in Hand Therapy at the University of Derby. She is also working as an Advanced Hand Practitioner working in Triage hand clinics in Nottingham.
Katy Phelps
Katy trained in Physiotherapy at the University of Birmingham and graduated in 2018. Her training included an elective placement which she chose to complete at the Pulvertaft Hand Unit which initially kickstarted her interest in hand therapy.
She then started as a Rotational Physiotherapist working within the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton trust. This allowed her to gain experience treating musculoskeletal conditions in outpatients, working on a wide range of inpatient settings including respiratory wards (including High Dependency Units), the Acute Stroke Unit and the A&E based frailty team.She then joined the Pulvertaft Hand Unit in 2021 as a Junior Physiotherapist and has since progressed to a Senior position within the last 6 months. She takes great interest in empowering and educating patients to self-manage their conditions and she also enjoys teaching of any kind and is very excited to start her first year of teaching on the BAHT course this year.
Danielle Haymes – BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
Dani graduated from York St John University 2019. She then started working at the Royal Derby Hospital in August 2019 as a Rotational Band 5 Physiotherapist. During her time on the rotation, she gained experience working in acute and outpatient settings including A & E with the Frail, Elderly Assessment Team, redeployed onto the short stay wards during Covid- 19, Surgery, Intensive Care Unit, Parkinson’s, Musculoskeletal Lower Limb/Group Rehabilitation, and the Pulvertaft Hand Centre.
Dani enjoyed the Hands Rotation so much, she progressed through the Band 5-6 accelerator post and was successful in obtaining a Band 6 position in March 2024. Dani is particularly passionate about empowering people to take part in physical activity to encourage a healthy lifestyle and promote functional independence. This interest led Dani to set up a Physiotherapy led Pilates group within the hand department with the focus on improving upper limb function, strength, mobility, whole-body conditioning, balance and confidence in independent exercise following the group.
Sarah Nganga
Sarah qualified from Sheffield Hallam University in 2005 and has worked predominantly in orthopaedics and elderly care before moving to the Pulvertaft Hand Unit to specialise in hand therapy in 2015. Sarah has completed the BAHT level 1 course and is committed to ongoing professional learning. She has a keen interest in fracture management and the psychological impact of hand injuries and conditions.
Sarah is involved in student education and is passionate about the development of the therapists of the future. She has also taught on the BAHT level 1 course to qualified therapists who are looking to improve their knowledge and skills in hand therapy.
Rotational Band 5
Hand Therapy is part of the physiotherapy rotations. Band 5 physiotherapists rotate into a variety of different specialities within the trust, and as part of their rotations they spend 6 months working as a valued member of the hand therapy team.
