Pace Rehabilitation launches in Scotland

Steve Love QC

Lawyers and advocates across Scotland heralded the ‘long overdue’ arrival of more choice for their seriously injured clients.

The online launch of the clinic saw speakers including Jodi Gordon, partner at Motorcycle Law Scotland, Steve Love QC of Compass Chambers and experts from the Pace Rehabilitation team in Glasgow discuss the advantages of private treatment for seriously injured clients.

A trio of Scotland’s most experienced clinical professionals have now teamed up to launch multidisciplinary private services specifically for amputees from premises in Glasgow.

The new Pace Rehabilitation practice is led by David Morrison who is a leading prosthetist in Scotland.

Mr Morrison graduated from Strathclyde University in 1997 in Prosthetics and Orthotics and since worked at a number of NHS services in the UK, including Wolverhampton, Preston, Leeds and Glasgow

He is joined by Helen Scott, one of Scotland’s senior physiotherapists with clinical responsibility for amputee rehabilitation. She graduated from Robert Gordon’s School of Physiotherapy, Aberdeen in 1981 and has worked in London and Glasgow for the past 30 years specialising in amputees. Louise Whitehead has spent 25 years in the vascular and amputee rehabilitation service in Dundee and also teaches physiotherapy students from Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities.

Pace Rehabilitation was established in 2003 by a small team of experienced clinicians who wanted to provide a more integrated approach to the treatment of people who had sustained limb loss.

It has treated more than 3,000 patients during the past decade from two sites in England.

Patients are referred to the clinic by serious injury law firms, insurers and case managers working with individuals who have sustained major trauma in a road accident or a workplace incident. Most patients have undergone major amputations of the upper or lower limbs.

The clinic manufactures bespoke prosthetic devices in-house. Patients are assessed, measured and treated over several sessions to optimise their outcome.

Toby Carlsson, founding director at Pace Rehabilitation, said: “We are proud to launch this service for amputees in Scotland. NHS provision is good in Scotland, but some aspects of prosthetic provision can only be accessed privately. We are excited to be able to address that need locally with the help of such an experienced team.

“As well as giving patients swift access to the latest technology in prosthetics our presence in Scotland opens up more choice for integrated treatment ranging from psychological support to physiotherapy.”

Ms Gordon commented: “The importance of having private prosthetic provision in Scotland cannot be overstated. The move from Pace Rehabilitation north of the Border is extremely welcome.

“It would be great to see a change in attitudes of solicitors in Scotland to mirror what happens in England and Wales. Collaborative working is key to maximising recovery for our clients. The client needs to be at the centre of the litigation process and with open discussions between parties, cases can be progressed far more efficiently.”

Mr Love said: “Ensuring that developing prosthetic technology is used to its best advantage facilitates the best possible rehabilitation outcome for any amputee and, for claimants and compensators in a litigation setting, enhances the prospects of keeping heads of claim (not just for life prosthetic costs) at a reasonable and proportionate level.

“The technical expertise and enthusiasm of the specialist and multidisciplinary team at Pace is obvious and their recent expansion into Scotland offers Scottish amputees the ability to access prompt, optimal and local levels of input and support.”

Mr Morrison added: “I’m excited about launching our clinic in Glasgow and I’m delighted to be joined by two trusted colleagues I have worked with for many years. Launching our services in Scotland will make a positive impact for patients and their families impacted by limb loss.

“All our work is geared towards enabling our patients to return to the quality of life they had before their life-changing incident. Anyone can become an amputee and we see people from all walks of life. Some patients have been involved in a motorcycle accident and need a lower limb amputation whilst others have sustained an upper limb injury at work.

“They all have one thing in common which is the need to get their lives back on track with minimum delay so they can go back to work and support their families.”

As well as providing physical rehabilitation in the form of prosthetic and therapy input, the clinic also provides psychological support to safeguard the mental wellbeing of its patients who have often experienced a major traumatic event.

Pace Rehabilitation also works with researchers from some of the world’s leading universities, including Salford University and Strathclyde University, to provide expert input on research projects and participate in testing and advising on new technology as the sector evolves.

The new clinic is based at 603 Helen Street, Glasgow, GS1 3AR.

See www.pacerehab.com