Rehabilitation: Along the Recovery Continuum

Matthew Beadman

Matthew works as a clinical psychologist in the ICU at Royal Surrey NHS FT. He developed and leads the ICU clinical psychology service which provides a service for patients, families and colleagues. Recently Matthew led a service for colleagues across an acute Trust, which drew on psychological science to develop initiatives aiming to buffer the effects of stressors associated with working in healthcare. He has co-authored book chapters, reports and guidelines advising on the psychological management of hospitalised patients.

Danni Bear

Dietitian in Critical Care and ICS AHP Professional Advisory Group, Chair,

Danielle obtained her Nutrition and Dietetics degree at the University of Wollongong and after working for a short time in Sydney, she moved to London and has been the Principal Critical Care Dietitian at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) for the past 11 years. Danielle has recently completed a Health Education England / National Institute for Health Research (HEE/NIHR) Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship where she explored the measurement and prevention of skeletal muscle wasting during critical illness and the effect on recovery. On the back of this, she was awarded the prestigious British Dietetic Association Rose Simmonds Award for the best research publication of 2019. Danielle has been instrumental in guiding critical care dietetic services during the COVID-19 pandemic, being awarded British Dietetic Association Roll of Honour in 2020 and 2021 for her work.

: @danni_dietitian

Claire Black

Claire Black is a is a clinical academic physiotherapist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where she is the clinical lead for the critical care long-term patients. Claire completed her doctorate at University College London on the feasibility of monitoring exercise intensity in mechanically ventilated patients recovering from critical illness. She currently holds a post-doctoral position with CHIMERA at UCL. Her research interests are rehabilitation of patients with and recovering from critical illness in ICU, weaning patients from prolonged mechanical ventilation and airway clearance strategies for mechanically ventilated patients.

James Bruce

James is an Occupational Therapist currently employed by the ICU at Torbay Hospital. He has been the rehabilitation coordinator for ICU there for 11 years. He has had the opportunity to engage patients in early rehabilitation, screening rehabilitation needs and delivering rehabilitation through the post ICU inpatient journey. He has developed an MDT patient specific follow up service to cater for longer term recovery of post intensive care syndrome (PICS). 

In November 2022, he started a new chapter in his career with a move to join the intensive care team at Bristol Royal Infirmary to support rehabilitation development within their ICUs, which is a very exciting challenge.

James is interested in long term functional outcomes post ICU, and learning from patients to improve acute care. He had the privilege of co-authoring the Occupational Therapy page for GPICS V2 in 2019; he supported the development of the AHP critical care professional development framework and co-chairs the AHP Critical Care Network for the South West of England.

Aeron Ginnelly

Aeron is a clinical lead speech and language therapist (SLT) with 20 years’ experience of working in both neurosciences and critical care. She has a specialist interest in tracheostomy weaning, speaking valve use in line with ventilation and dysphagia. She has conducted research into swallow screening on patients with a tracheostomy and has been a contributing author to a chapter on communication in the ICU population. She is on the committee of the national SLT tracheostomy clinical excellence network and has contributed to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists critical care position paper and tracheostomy competency framework.

Emma Jackson

Consultant Intensivist , UK

Emma Jackson is an intensivist from the NW with a longstanding interest in all aspects of humanising the ICU - all aspects from environmental & sensory through to animal-assisted therapy. She has also developed interests in follow up and long term rehabilitation for intensive care patients highlighting that there is always ‘a person behind the patient’ . She has undertaken a fellowship in ECMO and cardiac intensive care during her training.  

She previously chaired the Trainee Advisory Group for the Intensive Care Society as well as sitting on their Standards and Guidelines committee, where she led on the development of several guidelines. 

: @dremmaj_icu

David McWilliams

Professor of Critical Care and Rehabilitation , UK

David McWilliams is a Professor of Critical Care and Rehabilitation and Clinical Academic Physiotherapist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Coventry University's Centre for Care Excellence. He is the chair of the physiotherapy working group for the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, and Chair of the Intensive Care Society National Rehabilitation Collaborative. David was a member of the guideline development group for the NICE guideline ‘Critical Illness rehabilitation’ and is currently leading an NCEPOD study into rehabilitation and recovery following critical illness. David is recognised as an international expert on critical care physiotherapy and rehabilitation, regularly presenting both nationally and internationally on the subject

: @Davido744

Joel Meyer

Dr Joel Meyer is a full-time adult intensive care consultant at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust since 2015. He is a King's College London Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer. His clinical expertise includes functional recovery after critical illness. Dr Meyer co-leads the critical illness recovery service and is Deputy Chair of the U.K. Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine’s Life After Critical Illness programme. He co-founded Life Lines, a philanthropic KHP initiative focussed on digital support for patients, families and clinical teams throughout the intensive care journey.

Jack Parry-Jones

Consultant Intensivist and Vice Dean, FICM,

Consultant in adult intensive care medicine in Cardiff. He did his undergraduate training in London and then post graduate medical training in Bristol before returning to London to train in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia. Since 2003, Jack has worked as a consultant intensivist in south Wales in a variety of large and smaller units. He is a co-author for GPICS vs 1 and vs 2 chapters on Follow Up and Rehabilitation and the Welsh section of 'Life after critical illness'. He strongly believes that Rehabilitation and Follow Up are core areas of work for all critical care services as the speciality really works towards its true potential for patients.

Liz Staveacre

Liz is Lead Nurse/Associate Director for North West London Critical Care Network.  Working with Acute Trusts she co-ordinates strategic programmes across critical care providing specialist clinical input, developing and delivering network wide innovation, working to standardise and improve practice and education and engaging with staff at all levels. 

Liz has a special interest in Enhanced Care and the Deteriorating patient and was a Consultant Nurse for Critical Care Outreach at both Hillingdon and Stoke Mandeville Hospitals.  Prior to this had worked in Critical Care roles since 2004, specialising in Critical Care Outreach since 2011.  She has a passion for Outreach and has presented both nationally and internationally on the topic.  She is currently Vice Chair of the National Outreach Forum and has been a member of the Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Committee of the Intensive Care Society since 2016 and sits on the UKCCNA board.  Most recently, Liz was clinical group lead for the forthcoming national Critical Care Outreach Competencies and Career Development Framework and has presented to the all-party parliamentary group on Intensive Care around the role of Outreach in post ICU recovery and rehabilitation.

Paul Twose

Physiotherapist, UK

Paul Twose is a consultant therapist working with critical care at Cardiff and Vale UHB. He is also an honorary lecturer at the School of Healthcare Science within Cardiff University, the current ACPRC critical care champion and deputy chair of the National Rehabilitation Collaborative.

Having graduated in 2005, and completed his MSc in 2013, Paul’s main interests are in workforce development across all therapies. This focuses on the roles and responsibilities undertaken by therapists but also trying to prepare the workforce of the future. This follows on from his work exploring the minimum standards of clinical practice by physiotherapists in critical care, and ongoing work exploring existing services including both qualitative and quantitative studies. His future research will explore how therapy workforce impacts on patient outcomes, and to make more specific assessments of required workforce. His other major interest is within tracheostomy care. He recently received a £400,000 grant from the Cardiff Capital Region to explore innovative ways of delivering education including the use of virtual and augmented reality. This will include tracheostomy care but also consider other potential uses including bronchoscopy and intercostal chest drain insertion.