Susannah Barnes

I qualified as an occupational therapist in 1982 and since then I have worked as an occupational therapist in the fields of learning and physical disabilities, primarily with children. 

I have varied occupational therapy and case management experience including working with children in their homes, at rehabilitation clinics, in hospitals and within educational environments. My caseload typically includes children and young adults aged 5-24 years with complex and challenging disabilities, including autistic spectrum disorder, acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, various syndromes and endocrine disorders.

After working as a newly qualified occupational therapist in both the NHS and Social Services, in 1985 I moved to Cairo, Egypt where I remained working until 2002. Whilst abroad I worked in diverse environments and on various projects all related to children with disabilities. Since 2003, I have combined working as an occupational therapist with case management. I have been acting as an expert witness since 2012.

Occupational Therapy experience
As an occupational therapist I have primarily worked with children and young adults up to the age 19 with severe long-term disabilities. Many of the children and young people that I have worked with have complex needs and/or behaviour that challenges and I routinely treat those with dual and triple diagnoses. I have worked in a variety of settings including hospitals, clinics and family homes and I have experience of working with and training care teams in Children’s Homes, special educational needs residential schools and colleges. 

Case Management experience
As a case manager I work primarily with children aged up to age 19 with severe and long-term disabilities. My work involves assessing the overall needs of clients and their families and helping to plan their future lifestyle. Recruitment of other professionals, such as physiotherapists and speech and language therapists is often required. I estimate that I have case managed over 30 cases during my case management career and have been involved with many more cases when providing peer support and being a supervisor/mentor to other case managers.

Having worked as a case manager with children and young people with complex needs for over twenty years, I have extensive experience of recruiting carers and managing care teams of varying sizes and complexity including those requiring 24 hour care and using directly employed carers.

I accept instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers. I have undergone formal training in the medico-legal process and am fully aware of my responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses.