Towards the end of 2020 I was presented with the opportunity to apply for a physiotherapy position within the NHS. I am no stranger to working in the NHS, I spent 4 years as a student physiotherapist on placement in various NHS health boards and when I graduated I was fortunate to secure my first job as a rotational junior physio in NHS Lothian. I spent three years working at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and despite the challenges, the pressure and the on calls I loved it! And when I think back to what I loved most it always comes back to the people; the patients, the physio colleagues and the other members of the health care team; nurses, doctors and occupational therapists to name but a few.
Therefore, in 2012 when I left the NHS to move to Trondheim, Norway with my husband, I left a part of me in the NHS and I have always felt a pull to go back. However, I now know that if hadn’t left the NHS when I did I wouldn’t be where I am today. When I started out as a junior physio I never imagined working in private practice, never mind working alone. I needed a team and I lacked the confidence to go it alone. However, after I had my daughter in 2013 my interest in all things pelvic health began and this presented opportunities that hadn’t previously been possible. Whilst living in Copenhagen, Denmark I found the confidence to start working alone and this was when my training and journey into pelvic health began.
In 2018, we moved back to Aberdeenshire, now a family of 4, and with a husband who travelled and worked long hours and no family nearby I needed (and wanted) a job that was flexible around a young family. I also didn't know where I would fit in within the NHS anymore as I was no longer a Junior Physio but there weren't any pelvic health roles (as these are like gold dust). So again, I set up on my own and developed The Physiotherapy and Pilates Company, working from a treatment room at home and teaching Pilates in local halls.
Over time my confidence grew, I saw more complex patients and made a lovely network of other physios, personal trainers, health visitors, fitness instructors and others working within the pre and post natal population. It all seemed perfect. I was there to take the kids to school, pick them up afterwards and could choose my own hours. But something was still missing… the team. And not just the physiotherapy team but also the access to the urogynaecologists, obstetricians and the other experts.
When the opportunity to work part time as a physiotherapist within the NHS Grampian Pelvic Dysfunction Team arose I knew I had to go for it! Well that’s not entirely true, I spent quite a bit of time talking myself out of it and thinking that having been out of the NHS for 8 years they wouldn’t want me back. However, I had some equally convincing friends who told me to go for it… and so I did! By the time I had met the team and was selected for interview I knew that if I wasn’t successful I was going to be extremely disappointed…so thankfully, I was successful and I start my new NHS role in a few weeks!
What does this mean for The Physiotherapy and Pilates Company… Well you shouldn’t notice much of a change. Pilates classes will continue, with a slightly reduced timetable and private physiotherapy appointments will continue in Oldmeldrum as before. However, with the experience that I will gain in the NHS I hope that I can continue to develop and improve the physiotherapy services that I offer . My biggest passion though is to improve access to services and the awareness of what’s available for both women and men struggling with pelvic dysfunction. I hope that in being part of the NHS I will be able to drive change not just from my small corner in Oldmeldrum but on a bigger platform, so that by the time I am due to retire all women will know their vulva from their vagina, they won’t be ashamed to seek help for their bladder leakage and new mums won’t be coming to clinic asking, ‘Why did no one tell me?’.
Finally, to anyone, who has played any part in this journey, whether you were there with me in the library at university; helped me get through my first weeks and months at the Royal Infirmary; pushed me to seek new opportunities in countries when I couldn’t speak the language; or you watched my children so I could attend yet another course. Whether you recommended me to a friend, or just believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself then thank you because without you I wouldn’t have gotten to this point. Let’s see what the next 12 years will bring!
