Committee vacancies will be advertised annually and so any members wishing to get more actively involved should look out for details of these or contact the committee to register their interest.
CURRENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Contact: office@apcp.org.uk
Musculoskeletal Committee Chair and Representative
Christine Douglas (2023)
I qualified from the University of East London in 1998 and following junior rotations at Lewisham Hospital, joined the team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital as a Paediatric Physiotherapist in 2001. After a broad base of experience in community and acute paediatric care, including neonatal physiotherapy, I specialised in paediatric orthopaedics. I became an Extended Scope Practitioner (ESP) in 2005, covering musculoskeletal outpatient services, a neonatal hip screening clinic and Ponseti treatment of clubfoot deformity.
I have been in my current role for 7 years, working at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), in an ESP role. I triage and screen children with normal variants , and take the clinical lead role in our multidisciplinary clinic for management of Developmental Dysplasia of the hip (DDH). I am the physiotherapy lead for a busy Ponseti clinic and regularly run accredited ‘Global Clubfoot Initiative’ Ponseti training courses, as well as lecturing locally and nationally on various paediatric orthopaedic and MSK presentations.
I enjoy research and audit and am entering the final academic year of a MSc in Advanced Physiotherapy: Paediatrics, at University College London. I am a guest lecturer on the Podiatry MSc course at the University of Brighton. I am a regular peer reviewer for The Journal of Foot and Ankle Research.
I have been a member of the APCP for 20 years, and am really looking forward to serving a term on the National Committee.
Suzanne Gray
Suzanne qualified from Queen Margaret University College in 2004 and now works as an Advanced Practice Physiotherapist within the field of Musculoskeletal Paediatrics at Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.
As a new committee member in 2018, she is keen to contribute to this body providing professional support and promoting evidence in practice within this sub-speciality.
Victoria Harbottle
Vic came to physiotherapy later in life, having first completed an MSc in Marine Biology. She trained at Northumbria University, and completed her general rotations at South Tyneside District General Hospital before moving to specialise in paediatrics at the Great North Children’s Hospital. She has a special interest in paediatric rheumatology and is an active member of the British Society of Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology, as well as being passionate about the role of physiotherapists as clinical researchers.
Hayley Johnson
Hayley graduated from the University of Salford in 2005 and has worked as a specialist paediatric physiotherapist in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital since 2009. She has gained extensive experience in gait analysis and lower limb biomechanics and was involved in a number of research projects with Liverpool John Moore’s University. She now specialises in musculoskeletal outpatients and limb reconstruction and is part of the paediatric team within the Liverpool Limb Reconstruction Service.
Jane Robinson
Jane has worked as a physiotherapist since qualifying in 1988. Her interest in MSK and chronic pain began in earnest in 1994 when she moved to Sheffield. Since then, she has worked in the NHS both clinically and in management, private practice and guest lecturing at Sheffield Hallam University. Working with the pain management service at Sheffield Children’s Hospital since 2009, she has a passion for supporting therapists working with the complex needs of the children and young people and their families who present to the tertiary care of the paediatric pain management service. She was awarded a bursary to develop training and resources for this group by the APCP in 2017. She was also awarded a bursary to present a poster at the British Pain Society annual scientific meeting in 2017
Charlie Mallon
Charlie graduated from Manchester University in 2005 and started her paediatric physiotherapy career in 2009. She completed a masters module in integrated paediatric practice at Sheffield university.
She now works with a varied caseload in the community specialising in paediatric musculoskeletal conditions and has recently completed her Appi pilates teaching qualifications.
As a new committee member she is passionate about working with others to improve the quality and status of paediatric MSK physiotherapy.
Lucy Cassidy
Lucy qualified from the University of West of England in 2004 and has worked as a MSK Paediatric specialist since 2012. She now works as an Advanced Practice Paediatric MSK Physiotherapist at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. She is working towards completion of her MSc in Advanced Practice and is very much looking forward to working in the committee as a new member to continue to promote the importance of Paediatric MSK.
Sarah Bamford
Sarah is a MSK Adolescent Specialist Physiotherapist working for Solent NHS Community Trust on the south coast. She has over 10 years’ experience in the NHS, and privately within high level sports such as rugby and hockey. She started her career with a degree in Sports Rehabilitation followed by a Physiotherapy degree from Southampton University in 2010. Sarah has worked her way through rotations and has always had a keen interest in paediatric and adolescent MSK. Completing the MSc Module in Paediatric MSK Physiotherapy at UCL cemented her knowledge further and is awaiting the start day of the Sporting Adolescent Module. She has previously worked across both Children's and Adults services as Clinical MSK Lead, with a specialist interest in shoulders and high level rehabilitation. More recently Sarah has moved into a Specialist Advanced Practitioner role in Adolescents within Adult MSK outpatients with the aim is to set up a specific service for Adolescents, including the up skilling of staff, educating key stake holders and working alongside Paediatric Orthopaedics. Sarah has a passion for raising the awareness of MSK within this client group and is looking forward to driving change within MSK services.
Dr Rhiannon Joslin (2023)
Dr. Rhiannon Joslin is a consultant physiotherapist who is passionate about improving health services for children and young people experiencing musculoskeletal pain. As a clinical academic, she balances her role as a consultant physiotherapist within a paediatric multidisciplinary chronic pain team in West Sussex with her research and educational responsibilities at the University of Southampton. Dr. Joslin is currently undertaking a prestigious two-year post-doctoral fellowship with the Medical Research Foundation and Versus Arthritis, focusing on developing innovative physiotherapy interventions for children and young people experiencing musculoskeletal pain. Dr. Joslin was also an integral member of the guideline development group for the World Health Organization's guidelines on the management of chronic pain in children. She continues to represent physiotherapy internationally, championing advancements in this critical field.
Sophia Mughal White (2023)
Sophia graduated as a Physiotherapist from the University of Hertfordshire in 2010. Sophia has practiced in and around London, including secondary and tertiary care for MSK and complex conditions in paediatrics 0-18, and also in universal health visitor clinics for under 5’s. Sophia began specialising in MSK in 2013 and progressed to specialising in Paediatric MSK in 2018. Sophia currently holds a varied caseload of children and young people, aged 0-18, with a spectrum of MSK conditions including orthopaedic and rheumatological concerns, complex and medically unexplained conditions, and developmental delay.
Sophia is looking forward to working within the committee as a new member, towards the joint goal of improving the quality of, and supporting the importance of, paediatric MSK physiotherapy.
Sharon Hortop (2023)
Sharon Hortop MSc, MCSP.
Principal Paediatric Physiotherapist MSK and Orthopaedics.
Sharon qualified as a Physiotherapist from University West of England, Bristol in 2000.
After completion of core rotations Sharon developed an interest in MSK and specialised in this field in senior positions across several hospital trusts including the south east of England and Devon. Sharon moved to Wales to commence a career in paediatrics in 2006 working within all core areas before again specialising in paediatric MSK where she obtained a clinical lead post at the Noah’s Ark children’s hospital for Wales (NACHFW), leading an MSK paediatric service and hydrotherapy service.
In 2020 Sharon obtained the position of Principal Physiotherapist within NACHFW in a role which works both clinically with children with MSK and orthopaedic conditions and also operationally and clinically manages rheumatology, metabolic bone, Ponseti and aquatic therapy Children's services.
Sharon obtained her MSc in Advanced practice in 2023 having completed a work-based project on the introduction of a Multidisciplinary referral pathway for children with idiopathic toe walking (ITW).
Sharon is currently a Bevan exemplar, having been recently awarded a Commission for an innovation project which has created paediatric orthopaedic clinics in the community and created a training programme and resources for GP’s to aid confidence and onward referrals.
Sharon is a new committee member and excited to contribute within this dynamic and passionate group.
Amanda Kennedy (2023)
Amanda graduated from Northeastern University in Boston,MA in 1997. She began her Physiotherapy journey in Scotland at NHS Ayrshire and Arran 1999. She then moved into the world of Paediatrics at the Children's Hospital in Glasgow in 2003. Amanda has worked in the community in Renfrewshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, for nearly 20 years, with a mixed Neuro/developmental/ MSK caseload with a specific remit for MSK for over 10 years.