Pauline Charlton

Pauline is Lead Therapist at Hedley’s Horizons, our adult day service provision.

Pauline is responsible for overseeing all forms of therapy we provide, including physiotherapy, occupational and speech and language.

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How long have you worked at the Percy Hedley Foundation?

3 years 8 months, I joined on the 11th July 2022.

What has your journey been within the Foundation to get to where you are today?

I joined the Foundation as a Band 6 Senior Physiotherapist for Hedley’s Horizons, after only about 3 months my Lead Physio left and I decided to go for promotion to become Lead Physiotherapist for Horizons.

I then became Lead Therapist for Horizons in November 2024 – this is when I became therapy manager for the Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists.

What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in your time at the Foundation?

When I first joined, Horizons and College were joined together with the same joint senior leadership team and managers. We offered a different service and didn’t quite fit under the College umbrella.

During the summer 2024, a decision was made to split the two services. Horizons in my opinion was then able to develop its own identity and install our own practices for the benefit of the service users. This has gradually evolved; our service has expanded, there is an increased choice of activities, the service users enjoy more day trips out, it’s a happy and bright environment.

We are a busy team but friendly therapy team, aiming to support both service users, their family and staff in Horizons,

What’s your favourite part about your role?

The people. I love the staff – they are brilliant! They’re all very caring and dedicated. I also get so much warmth and pleasure from working with such wonderful service users. They make me smile on a daily basis.

What is your greatest memory of working at the Foundation? 

The Hedley’s Live concert in the park two years ago was an absolutely brilliant day with such talented students, service users and staff. It was lovely to have the whole service out, have lunch in the park and listen to some great music. It was a shame about the rain at the end of the day however, we all got soaked walking back to Horizons!

What does an average day look like for you? 

My day can be quite varied, it could consist of meetings, writing reports and of course carrying out physiotherapy sessions with our service users.

The physio sessions may consist of rebound therapy, hydrotherapy, land based sessions where I use my hands-on clinical skills and gym sessions.

The luxury as therapists in Horizons compared to most other therapists is that we have time to get to know the service users, we can design and change their sessions depending on what they would like to focus on, we can make it fun and interactive, or we can provide a quieter relaxation session.

We have the opportunity to identify if someone’s physical ability deteriorates and monitor posture, skin integrity and alert if someone requires medial attention. We also provide orthotics clinic and referral to wheelchair services.

A piece of advice to someone joining the Foundation? 

Get to know the staff and service users. You have staff here with many years of knowledge and know-how.

Get to know each individual service user, pick up on their individual qualities, get to know their likes and dislikes.

Smile – it’s a happy place!

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