Neurological Rehabilitation at Leeds Hospital

What is the Neurological Rehabilitation Service?

The Neuro Rehab service at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital is a multi-disciplinary service comprising of Specialist Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy. It uses a person-centred approach to provide individualised treatments for a range of conditions including (but not limited to): stroke, brain injury and post-cranial and spinal surgery. The goal of this service is to help you maximise your potential and achieve the best possible recovery outcomes.

  • Physiotherapy appointments are available to help patients with physical rehabilitation goals
  • Occupational therapy appointments are available to help patients with their functional activity and cognitive rehabilitation goals.
  • Speech and Language appointments are available to patients who are experiencing speech difficulties following a neurological event.


How does the service work?

Patients will attend the Physiotherapy Outpatient Department for an initial assessment with their booked specialist therapist. These are based on recommendation/referral or following a quick screening call to establish which speciality is most appropriate for their needs. Each therapist can recommend a session with a different speciality based on their assessment findings.

Appointments are 45-60 minutes for an initial assessment and 30-60 minutes for a follow-up, depending on clinical indication as recommended by your therapist.

Who can access the service?

Patients can self-refer, be referred following an appointment with a consultant or GP, or from one of the existing rehabilitation services within Leeds using our referral form (this is available on request if required).

Meet our team

Jen Thomson

Jen graduated from The University of Manchester in 2008, after completing her BSc in Speech and Language Therapy. She worked in Sheffield within NHS community stroke and neurology services before returning to the University of Manchester to complete her MPhil in Psychology in 2013. Here she researched a particular therapy approach for stroke survivors with aphasia (a language/communication disorder). Since then, Jen has worked in stroke rehabilitation at NHS Leeds Teaching Hospitals where she is now a Clinical Specialist SLT. Her clinical and research interests continue to be in acquired neurological communication disorders.

Jen has also lectured at Leeds Beckett University and currently sits on the British Aphasiology Society committee. In her free time, Jen enjoys cycling and climbing, spending time on her allotment and is training to be a counsellor.

Sarah Kemshall

Sarah graduated from York St John University in 2014 with a BSc in Occupational Therapy. She worked within Leeds Teaching Hospitals on the rotation, gaining a wide breadth of knowledge across many specialities, before specialising in neurosciences in 2016. Since then, she has worked in the acute and community stroke and neurosciences services, where she continues to develop her expertise. Her clinical and research interests are in stroke rehabilitation and Sarah is currently taking part in clinical research looking at the effectiveness of ‘motivational interviewing’ with stroke survivors and delivering a vocational rehab intervention to major trauma survivors.

In her spare time, Sarah is a competitive middle and long-distance runner, and is currently training for the London Marathon. She also enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and dog.

Jess Heap

Jess graduated from Leeds Beckett University in 2016 and since then has been a rotational physiotherapist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals for 7 years. During this time, Jess developed an interest in the management of neurological conditions and in 2019 decided to specialise in the treatment of these conditions. Since becoming a specialist neurological physiotherapist, Jess has worked on a complex rehab ward, a stroke rehab ward, and an acute stroke ward so has seen a wide range of conditions and various stages of the pathology. Alongside her work at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital, Jess continues to work within Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust to continue to develop her knowledge of neurological conditions and their treatment.

Jess enjoys working with people to help achieve their goals and solve problems.

How can you book or contact us?

An initial appointment with a specialist therapist is £72. Each follow-up appointment is £49. This service is also available through most major insurers including Aviva, AXA, BUPA, Cigna, Simplyhealth and WPA.

If you are using private medical insurance to fund this treatment, you should call your provider directly and discuss your needs with them. If they will cover the cost of the treatment, you'll be referred to our Nuffield Health Physiotherapy central bookings team who will book you an appointment with the appropriate clinician.

If you are self-funding this treatment, then please call our local Physiotherapy admin team on 0113 3227251 or the Physiotherapy central bookings team on 0345 0454845.

For general queries about the service, please call the Physiotherapy department on 0113 3227251 or email Leeds.PhysiotherapyAdmin@nuffieldhealth.com