Vranch House

The clinical services based at Vranch House are provided for:

• Children attending Vranch House School.
• School-aged children living in the Exeter area and attending as outpatients.
• School-aged children living in East or Mid Devon who need the specialism or facilities available at Vranch.
• Children attending other special schools in Exeter.

Vranch House also employs the North Devon Community Paediatric Physiotherapy team based at the Health Centre in Barnstaple.

Ginny Humphreys, Head of Therapy
at Vranch House and district Head
of Profession: Paediatric Physiotherapy

The clinical team consists of:

• Physiotherapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Speech and Language Therapist and Assistant
• School Nurses
• Technical Instructor and Therapy Assistants
• Therapy Secretaries

Referrals to the therapy team at Vranch House are prioritised and will be seen according to need.

High = seen in 3 weeks or sooner
Medium = seen in 6 weeks or sooner
Low = seen in 6 months or sooner

The service holds the child and family firmly at its centre and will respond to the needs of the children currently on the caseload.
Children will be assessed by one or more professionals together and the treatment offered will be either individually or in a group.

Groups currently running at Vranch House:

• Assessment group, Fine and Gross Motor (Wallabies)
• Fine Motor groups (Chimps)
• Fine and Gross Motor follow up groups (Action Club, Rocket Club)
• Hydrotherapy groups
  

Outreach preventative work

• Balance Education And Movement (BEAM) is a movement programme that has been recently established in all infant schools in Exeter. The rollout of this programme was funded by Exeter PCT.
• A multi-sensory handwriting programme has been devised by Dr Susan Mitchell, OT, and is available for schools to adopt.
  

24-hour Postural Management

The team in North Devon has developed an Integrated Care Pathway for 24-hour Postural Management for children with Cerebral Palsy. This is now being implemented in Exeter, East and Mid as well as North Devon. The aim of the pathway is to enable children to reach their full functional potential by minimising hip and spinal problems.