About Me

I am a Prosthetist & Clinical Specialist, I have been working in Prosthetics for close to 50 years now, having started out as an apprentice limb-maker at Roehampton in 1967.  Following on from 5 years of making limbs after completing my apprenticeship, I moved into the clinical side of Prosthetics. 

This was 1976. I went back to college for another 5 years and I qualified as a Prosthetist in 1982. Whilst at Roehampton I developed a manufacturing technique for a pair of swim limbs for a bilateral transfemoral limb user. 
I continued to work at Roehampton until 1989, when I became manager of the Prosthetics Clinical Service at Dulwich and then Crystal Palace Rehabilitation Centre (both for Kings College Hospital). I managed this service for some 18years,  heading a team that worked with children with multiple limb loss. I was nominated for the Evening Standard clinician of the year for my work with some of these children. In 2007 I was asked to deliver the Prosthetic supply for our returning injured soldiers, at Headley Court Rehabilitation Centre, once again working with individuals with multiple limb loss. What started as one clinic per week, quickly escalated to 3 and then 5 days a week. Eventually more Prosthetists were allocated clinics to support my role within a very challenging clinical service at Headley Court. 

Having set up this service and having helped build a team to carry on this work, I moved on to join the team at Charing Cross, west London, in October 2008. It has been an interesting time, supporting the good work already being carried out in the Holderness centre. 

Now, 7 years on, I have enjoyed helping a whole new group of really nice patients, many of them with multiple or challenging needs, - challenging both for the individual and for me, in my attempts to provide the most appropriate prosthetic care for their very individual needs. In January 2016 I received a lifetime service award from the British Healthcare Trades Association & was nominated for the BAPO lifetime achievement award. I found these nominations very humbling as I have simply been concentrating on providing the best possible service for limb users, always ready to learn new techniques & adopt new ideas.

Over all of these 49 years, I have mentored some 40 - 45 students from Strathclyde, Salford & school kids on work experience - some of whom subsequently joined the industry. I have looked after some patients who have followed me as I have moved between various limb centres -  in order to retain a continuity of their service. As a consequence I now have patients that I have been looking after for close to 35 Years! January 2016 will see the end of my time working with a private company as my employer, as I plan to retire on reaching 65, having then served the last 49 years in this so interesting industry. I plan to continue for a few years, however & look forward to new challenges, in a similar role.

Please do contact me to discuss your needs - I am always happy to help & advise. I would also like to share some of my experiences with you as I am sure you will find them interesting & many of you, I hope, will find these stories motivational. Select a button to read a blog, each one outlining one of the many experiences of my career. I look forward to hearing from you.

     

Ski Limbs

Swim Limbs

Running Limbs

Cycling Limbs