Lewisham Community Therapies

Lewisham Community Therapies are a specialist team consisting of Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Rehabilitation Assistants.

We work with adults over the age of 18 who live in the London Borough of Lewisham and/or have a Lewisham GP who have physical problems, speech and/or swallow problems, cognitive problems (eg memory) and/or problems performing activities of everyday life.

They see clients who are housebound, unable to travel to hospital, or if their needs are directly related to their home and/or community environment. We work across a range of settings including clients’ own homes, community environment, and nursing and residential homes.

We do not see people with a primary diagnosis of learning difficulties. We do not offer maintenance therapy.

Referrals

Patient can be referred by a GP, Consultant, District Nurse, Social services, hospital or any healthcare professional.  Referrals are accepted by a letter or email to LATT.

All referrals received get prioritised according to need/urgency with the information provided by the referrer. Our waiting/priority times are: 48 hours (urgent), 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks.

If you are a healthcare professional and would like to refer a patient please use the form below:

Community Physiotherapy

The Community Physiotherapy team consists of Neuro-specialist and Non-neuro Specialist Physiotherapists who provide a service to help the housebound adult to reach their optimum level of independence in their home and local community during or following illness, surgery, injury or a fall.

This service includes:

  • A specialist assessment of the patient’s condition and its impact on everyday activities within the home and local community
  • A comprehensive, timely and specialist assessment, treatment and ongoing management of  a wide range of conditions, including:
  • Orthopaedic ( Surgery, Hip / Knee Replacement, fracture)
  • Musculoskeletal (Back Pain, Neck Pain)
  • Neurology (acquired and long-term neurological conditions like stroke, traumatic brain injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, MND etc)
  • Respiratory (COPD, Asthma)
  • Falls
  • Mobility Problems (including the provision of walking aids)
  • Recommendation and, wherever possible, provision of appropriate orthotics (surgical appliances - devices used to treat or support different parts of the body e.g. collars, leg braces, shoe insoles), walking aids and minor equipment
  • Provision of individualised exercise programmes which patients can follow to improve Mobility, balance, strength, posture, perception, domestic and self-care tasks to maintain independent living
  • Physiotherapy support for patients with long term and progressive conditions.
  • Provision of an expert self management support and information, enabling patients to reduce the impact of their condition on function and quality of life.
  • Referral to other agencies.

Stroke and TIA | Lewisham and Greenwich

Community Occupational Therapy

Our Occupational Therapy team provide skilled assessments and treatment for clients with long term, neurological and complex conditions within the Lewisham borough.

Rehabilitation is provided through a goal based treatment approach, helping clients achieve maximum independence in all aspects of daily life, including self-care, domestic skills, memory, attention, work, education and leisure.

The team also have links to external agencies in the local community to support clients achieve their goals.

Community Adult Speech & Language Therapy Service (SaLT)

The team provide a high-quality specialist service for adults with acquired (acquired means that the person was not born with their problem) speech, language, communication and/or swallowing difficulties.

Our team of qualified Speech and Language Therapists (SALTs) works in partnership with the client, their family, carers and other professionals and agencies to provide individualised, person-centred assessment and therapy tailored to the client’s needs.

What we do:

SALTs are experts on the assessment, diagnosis, therapy and management of individuals with communication, speech, language and swallowing disorders, which may be related to various medical conditions. Typically, we provide services to people with:

  • Stroke
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Dementia
  • Head Injury
  • Brain tumour
  • Motor Neuron Disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).

Our service is also committed to teaching and providing training to a diverse audience, including clients, carers, support workers and other health professionals.

Rehabilitation Assistants (RA):

They assess and provide walking aids to clients and also visit users to carry out treatment programmes designed by a therapist.