Specialisms
- Spinal cord injury.
- Spinal injuries including fractures.
- Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES).
- Brain injury (traumatic and acquired).
- Neurological conditions.
- Associated orthopaedic injuries and amputations.
- Associated rheumatology, fatigue and pain.
- Associated mental health.
- Associated pressure sores.
- Associated hand injuries and brachial plexus.
Clinical Currency Statement
As at June 2025, I am engaged in the role of Associate Case Manager for COOCI Associates LLP for an average of 50 hours per month.
Signed
Specific Injuries Experience
Helen has over a decade of experience in neurological rehabilitation and has worked as a Case Manager with a leading spinal cord and brain injury specialist Case Management company since 2012. She currently manages a complex caseload of clients with spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries, many of whom have significant care and rehabilitation needs. She has extensive expertise in co-ordinating complex care packages.
Helen’s clinical background includes Specialist Occupational Therapy roles across neurology, physical disability rehabilitation, and community care. Her early clinical career focused on spinal cord injuries, including those with Cauda Equina Syndrome.
Through her diverse rehabilitation experience, Helen is confident in managing and commenting on a wide range of associated injuries in complex trauma cases, including orthopaedic injuries, fractures, and amputations.
She also has specialist experience in managing clients with complex rheumatological conditions, persistent pain, and fatigue syndromes, particularly as they relate to neurological injuries.
A large proportion of Helen’s clients require mental health support, particularly where trauma and psychological distress are significant factors.
Additional experience includes:
- Managing clients with significant pressure injuries, including advising on treatment and long-term management.
- Supporting clients with orthopaedic complications secondary to SCI or TBI.
- Working with clients with SCI who also present with brachial plexus injuries.
Employment Profile
Helen is a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist with 34 years’ experience predominantly in the field of Neurology and Spinal Cord Injury. For the last 13 years Helen has worked as a Case Manager specialising in Brain and Spinal Cord Injury.
Helen commenced working as an Occupational Therapist at the National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC), Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1991. During this time, she rotated across a number of wards, including the High Dependency Unit, Acute and Rehabilitation Wards, working with people who had sustained both low and high level spinal cord injuries (complete and incomplete) along with other complicating presentations including stroke, brain injury, orthopaedic injuries, and mental health conditions.
Helen then went on to work in various neurological rehab and general community social care settings in Senior Occupational Therapy posts, before spending 10 years as a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist with the Bath Head Injury and Neuro Rehab Unit at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust (RNHRD). Here she expanded her skills to include rheumatology, pain and fatigue issues.
Helen was integral in the co-ordination of complex discharge planning, facilitating maximum independence for her patients in a variety of settings and was also responsible for providing pre-admission assessments to guide the rehabilitation pathway for the injured individual. This has been expanded on significantly in her Case Management work where she is very competent in co-ordinating packages of complex care and implementing therapy teams. Helen has a significant number of settled cases which indicates her impact on the clients and their families.
Qualifications and Membership
- Dip COT – University College of Ripon and York St John (1991).
- Further Adult Education Teaching Certificate (FAETC).
- British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT).
- Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC).
- Case Management Society (CMSUK).
Career History
Present
Care Expert Witness
Jacqueline Webb & Co Limited
2012-Present
COOCI Associates
Neurological Specialist Case Manager
2004-2012
Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist
Bath Neuro Rehabilitation Services, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases
2001-2004
Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist
Physical and Neurological Rehabilitation, Bristol General Hospital
2000-2001
Community Occupational Therapist
Somerset Social Services
1999-2000
Community Occupational Therapist
Gloucestershire Social Services
1996-1999
Senior 1 Occupational Therapist
Quantock Rehabilitation Unit, Weston General Hospital
1991-1996
Basic Grade to Senior 1 Occupational Therapist
National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital