The OT Service is led by Kate, Adam, Samantha and Lucy who are highly respected occupational therapists in their respective fields and continue to hold clinical caseloads to maintain an in-depth knowledge in their area of practice.

Directors

Kate Sheehan

Director & Occupational Therapist

Kate qualified from Derby School of Occupational Therapy in 1987.

Kate is a well-respected occupational therapist, with over 30 years of experience. She is the former chairperson and treasurer of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists specialist section – Housing (COTSS – H) and represented the Royal College of Occupational Therapists in Europe. Kate chaired the genHOME research project working on the evidence base for housing modifications.

Kate has worked in partnership with Bristol University on the publication of ‘Minor adaptations without delay’, funded by the Housing Corporation and Royal College of Occupational Therapists, co-authored the new 2018 edition of the Wheelchair Housing Design Guide and wrote two chapters of the “Essential Guide for Newly Qualified Occupational Therapists’.

She has presented her work on inclusive design and housing standards at the World Federation of Occupational Therapists in Sydney, Australia, COTEC in Milan and at the RCOTSS-H conference.  She has also developed and taught on the first accessible housing course in Croatia and Bosnia.

Kate is a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Specialist sections – Independent Practice and Housing as well as being registered with the Health Care Professionals Council.  She maintains a high level of professional development and feels the key to providing her clients with an excellent service is maintaining close networks within the commercial, housing and occupational therapy fields.

In her spare time Kate supports the local primary school in maintaining their wild gardens and is a campaigner for excellent education for all.

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Adam Ferry

Graduating in 2007 with an Occupational Therapy BSc, Adam worked in the NHS until he left in 2018 to work full-time in the private sector as a director of The OT Service, although there was a two – year period when these roles overlapped.

Whist in the NHS Adam worked in a range of clinical areas but predominantly emergency care, then neurological rehabilitation as a senior therapist.  In the final 3 years of NHS employment Adam managed acute and rehabilitation services across four sites.

Over recent years Adam has continued to develop a clinical reputation within neurological rehabilitation and falls, holding a complex caseload supporting case managers and their clients.  However, it is within commercial consultancy that Adam has developed his national and international profile, being responsible for development of The OT Show CPD programme as well as expert consultancy for high profile companies such as AKW, Closomat, Invacare, Mangar International and Abacus Healthcare.

Adam is a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists and the College of Occupational Therapists Specialist sections – Independent Practice and Older People as well as being registered with the Health Care Professionals Council (OT52788)

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Samantha Shann

Director

Samantha qualified in 1992 as an occupational therapist and gained her masters in 2011.  She also holds a post-graduate teaching qualification in academic practice. Samantha is a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and a member of RCOT’s specialist sections – Older Persons and Mental Health as well as being registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council.

Samantha’s clinical speciality centres on those with mental health concerns, while her wider role with The OT Service involves supervision and mentoring as well as consultancy to businesses focusing on training and occupational therapy expertise.

Samantha is the president of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT).  She is committed to promoting and advocating for the profession by supporting the development of professional standards and new educational programmes.

Until 2016 Samantha held the position of senior lecturer at Northumbria University overseeing aspects of the BSc (Hons) and MSc (pre-registration) occupational therapy programmes, with a particular interest in supporting students and graduates in developing new services. Samantha remains a regular guest lecturer at various national and international universities.

Through her work with the WFOT Samantha represents the occupational therapy profession at high-level World Health Organisation (WHO) meetings and contributes to specific WHO projects for example the GATE (Global Assistive Technology) initiative, Rehabilitation 2030 and Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). Samantha is also a founding board member for the International Society for Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP).

Samantha is a sought after speaker at national and international conferences sharing her expertise on promoting professional identity and establishing occupational therapy services.

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Lucy Leonard

Occupational Therapist

Qualified to master’s level, Lucy graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 1999 and worked in acute mental health as well as rehabilitation for people with enduring mental health problems.  She then went on to work in a community setting where she developed extensive skills in equipment and adaptations for adults with complex, long-term and neurological conditions.

In recent years, Lucy has worked as a specialist occupational therapist and having owned her own business providing expert occupational therapy she is now a director at The OT Service.  Lucy has also worked as a consultant occupational therapist for several UK-based companies to advise on their new products as well as working with the Disabled Living Foundation Charity to develop their website.

Lucy has delivered lectures on integrated working and has spoken to academics at Sheffield Hallam on integration to support their new ‘integrated curriculum’ and was subsequently invited as the key-note speaker at the Inter-professional Education Conference.  Lucy has appeared on BBC’s ‘Breakfast’ television to discuss innovative practice and has been interviewed on Radio 4’s ‘World at One’ regarding integrated working.  She is an external examiner and guest lecturer at Sheffield Hallam and Salford Universities and also assesses undergraduate medical students at The University of Liverpool.

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Office Team

Our clients, partners and associates are fully supported by a skilled team of office staff, Brian, Lisa and Jill, ensuring a high-quality service in line with OT Service values.

Brian Trotter

Practice Manager

Brian has a wide variety of experiences to draw on in his role as Practice Manager. He graduated in 1997 from The University of Brighton with a Ba (Hons) in Physical and Business Education.  He spent some time in London fitness instructing and sports coaching before re-locating to the North East, setting up his own business with the help of the Prince’s Trust. 

As personal and professional circumstances changed Brian moved into an 14 year healthcare career,  firstly with the ambulance service and latterly in an NHS Acute Occupational Therapy service as a Technical Instructor. He is now our full-time Practice Manager and brings a committed and creative approach to the service we provide.

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Lisa Herron

Clinical Co-ordinator

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Jill Straker

Administrator

Jill began working for The OT Service in 2020 following 30 years of work in statutory services. She brings a wealth of experience from a variety of administrative and secretarial roles, many in the NHS and thus has a huge understanding of the healthcare sector and the importance of effective administration.

Jill has helped The OT Service go from strength to strength and she is the first port of call for referrals, associate queries and general enquiries.

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Associates

Louise Kimber

Occupational Therapist

Louise qualified from St Loye’s School of Occupational Therapy (Exeter) in 1996.  She is also a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Housing Specialist Section.

Initially working in the NHS, for the past 23 years Louise has worked within both the public and private sectors in London, the South East and the South West of England. Over the years she has gained extensive experience with grant and private funded major adaptations, requiring close liaison with home improvement agencies, surveyors, architects, and housing associations.  More recently she has held positions within a local authority specialist housing team and a disabled children’s team assessing for major adaptations, alongside standard and bespoke equipment.

Louise’s assessments focus on a wide variety of factors that can impact on occupational performance and she is committed to enabling people to regain independence in their lives and maximise their potential. Louise continually strives to carry out holistic needs-led assessments, whilst developing trust to bring about positive change. She maintains a high level of professional development through regular training, peer supervision and attendance at study days, conferences, and seminars.

 

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Jen

Jen Gash

Occupational Therapist

Jen is a highly qualified, experienced occupational therapist and coach, who has worked for over twenty years with individuals and teams. Her varied and extensive background leads her to work powerfully with individuals who may have hidden challenges which are impacting on relationships and performance at work, including:

People with hidden problems e.g. neurodiversity, sensory integration issues and mental health challenges. Highly creative people who struggle to harness and integrate their strengths at work. Individuals in crisis who need to make a radical shift.

As a coach, she works with a variety of tools, developmental frameworks and theoretical models. She is a visiting lecturer at Worcester University and regularly teaches coaching skills to various groups. She also work with teams at an organisational level, especially where radical creativity and systemic change is required. Jen has a special interest in developing new ways of working and the use of social media to promote therapeutic businesses.

Jen is a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists as well as being registered with the Health Care Professionals Council.

Jen says she “is a domestic goddess whose talents are thwarted by a dirty dog and an inability to work the dishwasher.”  She “fancies herself as a comedian but unfortunately finds herself funnier than others seem to.”  She “has skills in flea chasing, killing red mite and treating chickens who are depressed.”

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Jacqui Waller

Occupational Therapist

Jacqui qualified in South Africa in 2015 and has since specialised in paediatrics and young adults.  She has experience in a variety of settings including hospitals, special needs, mainstream and college level educational institutions.  Jacqui spent 3 years working in a rural special needs school in South Africa, providing therapy for children with intellectual and physical impairments, who came from multicultural, multi-lingual backgrounds, often with more than one disability.  Jacqui’s approach is extremely creative and resourceful  in order to maximise children’s engagement and independence in all activities including those at school, play, leisure and self-care skills such as dressing and feeding.  This is devised through home and school-based treatment plans, that are uniquely tailored to each child.

Jacqui has worked with a variety of disabilities including cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism and sensory processing disorders, muscular dystrophy, global developmental delays and learning disabilities. Her areas of expertise include classroom adaptations, seating equipment, sensory strategies, self care, handwriting intervention, gross motor, fine motor and perceptual skills.  She has experience in running interactive cerebral palsy and autism support groups for parents, as well as training for staff members.

She is passionate about paediatrics and supporting children to reach their potential, while working closely with the multi-disciplinary team and providing open communication with parents to set realistic goals, from helping with handwriting to children with highly specialised needs.

 

 

 

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Louise Martinez

Occupational Therapist

Louise qualified in 2006 and has worked in a variety of settings including community, hospital and accident & emergency. She is an experienced leader and manager with a background in elderly medicine.

Since 2015, she has worked in independent practice, specialising in working with adults experiencing a broad range of difficulties through physical conditions from polytraumatic injuries, orthopaedics, lower limb amputees, elderly, chronic fatigue syndrome and stroke.

Highly experienced in manual handling assessments, postural seating assessments and major and minor housing adaptations and equipment provision, Louise’s focus is to provide high quality client-centred interventions for all.  She also carries out expert witness work and has undergone formal training in the medico-legal process.  In addition, she is a Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP).

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Testimonials

Hear what our team has to say about us.

Since becoming an associate with the OT Service I have felt incredibly well supported. The team are always quick to respond to emails and calls and even though I’ve only met one or two face to face, I feel like part of the team. Moving into independent practice was daunting so to be working with the OT service who are understanding and respectful of that, has been a blessing.

A – Associate Therapist

I signed up to work with The OT Service almost a year ago. They are a super company to work for. You never feel pressurised to take on work if you feel you haven’t got the capacity and the team are grateful for the time you can offer. The staff are approachable, always have time for you and put a lot of trust in your experience. Although autonomous, you are well supported by experienced clinicians.

S – Associate Therapist

My experience so far as an associate working with The OT Service has been nothing but positive. Support is on hand for assistance with systems and processes, and the access to another clinician as part of the quality assurance process is reassuring. The rates of pay are attractive and it’s very refreshing to be paid in such a timely manner, as an Independent OT. I am really loving working with TOTS, just wish I had more capacity to take more!

A – Associate Therapist