Katharine Atkin, Chartered Physiotherapist

Professional Experience

I qualified as a Physiotherapist in 1996 from the University of Brighton. After gaining experience in the core areas as a junior physiotherapist, I worked in various locum posts while waiting for a post in amputee rehabilitation. In 2001 I gained my first post in a prosthetic centre.

I am currently working as the Lead Amputee Physiotherapist at a local community hospital. Our service is a hub for amputees living in the North of the county. My role is to lead and manage the out-patient amputee service, and provide clinical advice and support to colleagues working with amputees within the wider Trust.  I also work in the private sector as an independent physiotherapist, offering amputee rehabilitation in a local clinic, or in a client’s own home. Drawing on my extensive experience of working in amputee rehabilitation within the NHS, the treatment that I can offer includes assessing a client’s needs, planning treatment, goal-setting and rehabilitation, whether that is with a prosthesis, or not. I have experience of working with a variety of prosthetic componentry, including micro-processor knees. I also offer pain management, specifically for the relief of phantom limb pain.

I previously worked at Bristol Centre for Enablement as a Specialist Physiotherapist in Amputee Rehabilitation. I had a large clinical caseload of predominantly adult lower limb amputees, but I also treated some children. These patients had a range of causes for their amputations – congenital, vascular, diabetes, trauma,& infection. I mainly treated patients with single limb loss, but also have experience of patients with multiple limb loss. The centre received many war veterans who used high-end prosthetic componentry, which enhanced my knowledge and skills in this area. If these patients wished to upgrade their prosthetic componentry, I was involved in the assessment of outcome measures to demonstrate a clinical need for the change, and I then contributed to the application process. NHS England have approved a policy for provision of microprocessor knees (MPKs). This means that I took part in regular assessment clinics to review patient’s eligibility for an MPK. I then trained patients to use an MPK and assessed outcome measures to demonstrate the clinical need for the MPK.

Professional Development

In 2010 I gained a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Studies, completing modules in Introductory Biomechanics, Lower Limb Prosthetic Biomechanics, Clinical Gait Analysis, Research Methodology and Data Analysis.

I am an active member of the British Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in limb Absence Rehabilitation (Bacpar), and I have previously been the editor of the Bacpar Journal and held the post of Treasurer. I led on the development of the Bacpar Toolbox of Outcome Measures, published in 2010. I am currently on a committee tasked with updating the evidence-based 2016 BACPAR Clinical Guidelines for the Pre- and Post-operative Physiotherapy Management of Adults with Lower Limb Amputations.

I also maintain my professional development and HCPC standards by attending relevant training.