Frequently Asked Questions
Are all physios qualified?
Yes! All of our physios are fully qualified. This means as a minimum they will be:
- Chartered Physiotherapists and Member of the Chartered Society Of Physiotherapy
- Registered with the Health Professions Council
- Have at least 5 years post qualification hands on treatment experience
The majority of our physios have much more experience than the stated minimum and many have further qualifications.
Can I choose which physio treats me?
Can I choose to be seen by a female physio?
Will I have to stop treatment if my physio is sick or on holiday?
Absolutely not! One of the advantages of being a large practice means that we are able to offer you the choice of physio should your regular practitioner be unavailable. All our physios maintain detailed physiotherapy records of all treatments and they all have high levels of clinical expertise. This means that they would be able to understand the specifics about your condition and your progress and then continue with your treatment plan uninterrupted. As standardised records are made for every session, your regular Physio would be able to continue your treatments in full knowledge of your progress, once they return. We will always discuss the option of seeing an alternative Physio with you and the decision to go ahead will remain yours.
On the rare occasion that your physio is sick on the day of your appointment, we will endeavour to place you with an alternative physio as close to your original appointment time as possible. We will call you to offer you this alternative appointment and discuss your treatment needs with you. The decision to go ahead with this new appointment will remain with you.
What can I expect to happen in the initial assessment?
1. Subjective examination
The physiotherapist will ask a series of questions relating to your problem and medical history. You may find it useful to consider responses to some of these questions in advance and also to bring with you details of current medication.
We will need to know in detail about the following:
- Current problem – How it occurred, what makes it better or worse and any previous help or investigations that you have already undergone for this problem
- Past medical history – Details of any past operations or illnesses
- Medication – Drugs you are taking, for how long and for what
- Social history – Your lifestyle, job hobbies etc
- Special questions – screening to make sure Physiotherapy is safe for you
Once the physiotherapist has established a picture of you and your problem they can carry out the objective examination.
2. Objective examination
The physiotherapist will ask you to do certain movements, so that they can analyse your movement pattern. They will look in detail, thoroughly checking out your joints, muscles, tendons and nerves.
3. Findings & Treatment Plan
Once this has all been carried out, your physiotherapist will discuss their findings with you and explain the best course of action for both your treatment plan and advise what you will need to do.
We will discuss our findings with you, demonstrating what has gone wrong and what we need to do to fix the problem using anatomical drawings, skeletons, models of the joints etc. We will provide you with an explanation “leaflet” relating to you condition (if appropriate) and offer you advice on exercises which you could conduct at home to speed up the healing process.
We will highlight how we propose to treat your condition in a plan which we will agree with you. The treatment plan will outline the techniques that we propose to use, the electrotherapy equipment we are planning to use and the extent of the recovery we are aiming to achieve.
Using our experience as chartered physiotherapists, we will also give you an indication of how long we believe it will take to make a full recovery.
Can I pay for my treatments by credit card?
Yes, we accept all types of payment,
- Debit cards
- Credit Cards (except American Express)
- Cash
- Cheque
- Direct payment through Medical Insurance
How do I know what type of physiotherapy will help me?
What clothes shall I bring for my physio appointment?
Please feel free to bring shorts (for leg, hip and back problems) and vest top (for back, arm, chest, neck and head problems)
What do I have to do if I want to claim costs through my medical insurance?
Rugby Physiotherapy deals with All major medical insurance companies. For further information about what to do to claim through your insurer, visit our Appointment & Fees page.
I have an excess or treatment limit on my medical policy what should I do?
A Policy Excess is a payment that the client has agreed to make towards the insurance claim. This can be in the form of a deduction against each treatment or deduction against the total claim. The insurer deducts the Excess from invoices submitted by the clinic and the patient is required to settle the Excess amount directly with the clinic. The Insurance company will write to the patient (and clinic) to inform them that an excess has been deducted. We will issue an invoice directly to yourself requesting payment.
A Policy Limit is a maximum amount towards treatment. This is usually in the form of an annual limit but it can also be set as a limit for each episode of care. The medical insurance company will pay invoiced amounts up to the predescribed limit. Any charges over the limit are to be settled by the patient directly with the medical clinic. The Insurance company will write to the patient (and clinic) to inform them that the policy limit has been exceeded. We will issue an invoice directly to yourself requesting payment.
Important!
If you are dealing with the claim yourself, it is important that all invoices are sent to the medical insurance company to ensure that you are not disadvantaged. Remember some excesses and limits get reset at the policy year end.
Medical insurance registration details for our physiotherapists and podiatrists
Our Teams HPC and Medical Insurance registration details are tabulated below
| Physiotherapist | HPC Number | BUPA Number | AXA/PPP Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liz Coulthread | PH36674 | 80009279 | ZZ00975 |
| Manny Bhurji | PH105402 | 80009279 | ZZ00975 |
| George Gavoyannis | 80009279 | ZZ00975 | |
| Luke Tatten | 80009279 | ZZ00975 | |
| Podiatrist | HPC Number | ||
Health Professions Council
The Health Professions Council (HPC) is a government body which was set up to reassure people that they are being treated by fully Qualified medical practitioners. The HPC ensures that all medical practitioners meet certain professional standards and is also the body to turn to if something should go wrong. The HPC maintain a register of all the health professionals who have passed State Examinations. You can check the registered status of any of the Rugby Physiotherapy team by clicking on the HPC image link (below) and entering the Physiotherapists HPC number.
| Physiotherapist | HPC Number |
|---|---|
| Liz Coulthread | PH36674 |
| Alison Harbord | PH27458 |
| James Neal | |
| Anne Merrall Alex Bunyard | PH20450 |
| Podiatrist | HPC Number |
| Karen Stone | CH32659 |
