A partnership between Helen & Douglas House and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is set to help children and young people across the South East who are living with chronic conditions and long COVID.
The Children’s Rehabilitation Service is run by Oxford University Hospitals and will offer an outpatient service, as well as accommodation for up to three inpatients. The service was previously based in the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, but has been relocated to a purpose built clinic on the ground floor of Douglas House, where young people can make the most of the calm environment to maximise their rehabilitation.
The team based at this new location includes a Medical Consultant, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Clinical Psychologist, Teacher, and Therapy Assistant and the services are wholly funded by the NHS.
The new service will help young people and their families to manage their chronic pain and long COVID symptoms so they can return to most, if not all, activities of daily living. The team takes a holistic approach to treatment, including helping children talk about their feelings, as well as addressing mental health problems, helping with sleep problems and assisting with exercise.
All the facilities at Helen & Douglas House are purpose-built to care for young people. This includes accommodation on site situated within our tranquil gardens so that families can stay with their children.
Clare Periton, Chief Executive of Helen & Douglas House, said
“This is a very proud day for Helen & Douglas House, and we are delighted to welcome the Children’s Rehabilitation Service to our building on Magdalen Road.
“We have worked with OUH for many years. I think our supporters will be delighted to see the facility they helped build being used once again for its original purpose of caring for young people. This incredible collaboration very much aligns with our ethos of holistic care and complementary therapies to ensure children and young people can enjoy life to the full. It also offers a fantastic opportunity for our two paediatric teams to work even closer together to share knowledge and experience to enhance children’s health and wellbeing”
Dr Konrad Jacobs, lead for the Children’s Rehabilitation at OUH, said“We are delighted to be based at Douglas House. Our patients do not require acute medical care like in hospital, and benefit from a tranquil environment. Additionally, Douglas House is perfect for rehabilitation in terms of its facilities. The close co-operation between Helen & Douglas House and the Children’s Rehabilitation team shows that, in some cases, the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.”