Home Visit Physiotherapy in Richmond
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Home physiotherapy across Richmond, from Kew to Ham
We visit people at home across Richmond: the town and the Hill, Kew, East Sheen and Mortlake, and south along the river to Petersham and Ham. Our physiotherapist for Richmond comes from a hospital pain service, which makes this one of the first patches we cover with a physiotherapist from a pain background. If pain has quietly shrunk someone’s life — the walk to the shops given up, the garden left, the stairs taken one at a time with a grimace — that is the work she is trained for, done at home and at a pace the body will accept.
We see everyone else too. A mother in Kew has started to stay in rather than risk the pavements. A husband in East Sheen came home from hospital a fortnight ago and has not been upstairs since. A father in Ham has been told, kindly, that this is probably as good as it gets. Or the change has been slow enough that nobody noticed until it was obvious. It is hard to watch, and harder to live with. The right time to ring is before the fall, not after it.
Our services in Richmond include:
- Muscle and joint pain — persistent hip, back and knee pain, at home.
- Post-operative rehabilitation — getting a new joint working on your own stairs.
- Older people’s physiotherapy — strength, balance and confidence outdoors again.
- Dementia physiotherapy — keeping walking going for as long as possible.
- Neurological physiotherapy — stroke, MS and Parkinson’s, from colleagues in the wider team.
- Respiratory physiotherapy — for COPD and breathlessness.
- Care home physiotherapy — for residents across Richmond, Kew and Sheen.
- Rehabilitation for case management clients — complex and post-trauma rehabilitation.
Why families in Richmond come to us
Richmond is lovely to look at and hard on knees. The town climbs from the river up the Hill; Kew and Sheen have tall Victorian and Edwardian houses with the bathroom on the first floor; and Petersham and Ham sit between the river and the park, beautiful and a long way from a bus for anyone who has stopped driving. The towpath is flat and a few minutes away for a lot of people. Getting back to it is a goal worth having.
- Every physiotherapist who visits is chartered, HCPC registered and a CSP member. No exceptions.
- No GP letter needed. You can ring us yourself, or a family member, case manager or care home can ring for you.
- We are patient. Nobody is rushed, and nobody is made to feel they are taking too long.
- We take the worry seriously as well as the pain. Fear of making it worse is often what keeps people still.
- Families, carers and GPs kept in the loop, and we say plainly when something is not working.
- We go the extra mile for the outcome that actually matters to you, rather than the one on a form.
Before the first visit the office sends a short form, so the history, medicines and any hospital stays are known before anyone arrives. The hour itself goes on finding out what is really in the way, starting some of the work, and agreeing a plan the household can keep going between visits.
Your South West London physiotherapist
Your physiotherapist for Richmond is a chartered physiotherapist from a musculoskeletal and pain background, most recently a hospital pain service, trained in a psychologically informed approach to pain. She covers Richmond with Kingston, Twickenham and Teddington; the wider team covers neurological rehabilitation.
Areas we cover in and around Richmond
Richmond and the river
- Richmond town centre
- Richmond Hill
- Petersham
- Ham
North of the park
- Kew
- East Sheen
- Mortlake
That takes in TW9, TW10 and SW14. If you are near the edges — Barnes, Roehampton or Twickenham — ring and ask.
What people in Richmond want back
Ask someone what they want from physiotherapy and they rarely say range of movement. They name something they want to do again:
- Getting upstairs to your own bathroom, instead of managing with a bowl downstairs
- Getting out of a low armchair without rocking or a hand under your arm
- Getting on and off the bus, with time to sit down before it pulls away
- Along the towpath from Richmond Bridge, and a sit on a bench because you want to, not because you have to
- Holding a grandchild’s hand, standing up, all the way to the playground
- Being yourself again, rather than the person everyone is worried about
We write the goal down at the first visit and check it against what has changed, so progress is something you can see rather than take on trust.
The NHS team works to a goal and then steps back. The rest of the year happens at home.
Most people in Richmond go to West Middlesex University Hospital in Isleworth or Kingston Hospital, depending on where they live and what has happened. Afterwards, Richmond is better served than most boroughs: the Richmond Response and Rehabilitation Team brings nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists home for anything from a few days to a few weeks, and the Pamela Bryant Unit at Teddington Memorial Hospital gives people a period of rehabilitation before they go home.
That is good care, and it is time-limited by design. It works to a set of goals and then hands back. What follows — keeping going, building on it, the long walk back to normal — is the part families most often ring us about.
Around a third of people aged 65 and over, and around half of people over 80, fall at least once a year.
Most falls are not random. Strength and balance can be trained, and that is a large part of what we do at home.
How we close the gap
As soon as you have a date
Ring us with a discharge date, or just ring. We book around it.
Helped, not taken over
It is easy, with the kindest intentions, to do things for someone that they could still manage. We help families make the help build independence back.
Less help needed, not more
As you do more for yourself, the care often gets smaller: fewer calls, or one carer where there were two.
Down to the towpath
Flat, green and a few minutes from most of Richmond. For a lot of people it is the first goal worth the effort.
Helping you recover using physiotherapy in the comfort of your home
FAQ - Your local questions
The rehabilitation team came for a few weeks after my mother got home and has now stopped. Is that it?
No, it is usually just the end of one stage. The Richmond Response and Rehabilitation Team works to particular goals, typically over a few days to a few weeks, and then steps back; that is how the service is designed, and it does a lot of good in that time. Many people are safer at the end but not yet back to their old life. We pick up from there at home in Richmond, building on what the NHS team started, for as long as it is making a difference, and we are happy to talk to the team about what they found.
My wife has been told she will just have to live with the pain. Is there anything else?
Often, yes. “Live with it” can mean two different things: that the cause cannot be removed, which may be true, or that nothing can change how much it runs her life, which usually is not. Our physiotherapist for Richmond comes from a hospital pain service, and the work there is exactly this: understanding the pain, pacing activity, and steadily getting back the things it has taken. The NHS pain clinic for the area, at the Teddington Health and Social Care Centre, takes GP referrals; we can work alongside that or in the meantime.
My father has stopped walking down to the shops in Sheen. Nothing has happened. Is that worth a call?
Yes. Giving up a regular walk is one of the earliest signs that strength, balance or confidence is slipping, and it is far easier to turn around now than after a fall. We would see him at home in East Sheen, find out what has changed — legs, breath, pain or nerve — and build back towards the walk itself, starting at the front gate if need be. If he has a Richmond GP, the borough’s NHS falls and bone health service also takes self-referrals, and we are happy to work alongside it.
My grandmother has dementia. Will she be able to follow the exercises?
Usually, with the right approach. People with dementia often do well with movement built into ordinary routines — standing to brush her teeth, walking to the kitchen for her tea — rather than a list of exercises on a sheet. We keep instructions short, show rather than tell, and repeat the same things each visit so they become familiar. We also show whoever is with her, family or carers, how to prompt without taking over. Age UK Richmond upon Thames runs dementia support across the borough as well.
Do you come out to Petersham and Ham, or only into Richmond itself?
Yes, both, and Kew, East Sheen and Mortlake too. Petersham and Ham are exactly the kind of place where home visits make most sense: lovely, but some way from a bus route once someone has stopped driving, and the trip to an outpatient clinic can take more out of a person than the session puts back. If you are towards the edges of the patch, in Barnes or towards Roehampton, ring and ask; we will tell you honestly whether we can reach you, and if we cannot, who might.
My mother is caring for my father and she is exhausted. Does this help her too?
It should. Part of every plan is making the day-to-day easier for the person doing the caring: safer, simpler ways for your father to get up, wash and move about, so she is lifting less and worrying less. We show her what helps and what to leave alone, and if equipment would make a real difference we will say so and point you to Richmond Council’s adult social care team. Richmond Carers Centre offers support to carers in their own right, which is well worth a call.
She lives in a retirement flat with its own staff. Can you still visit, and would it duplicate what they do?
Yes, we can visit, and no, it should not duplicate it. Retirement and extra-care schemes in Richmond and Kew usually provide support with daily living rather than rehabilitation. We come for a block of visits with her own goals in mind — the walk to the communal lounge, the stairs, getting out to the shops — and we tell the scheme’s staff what to encourage between visits so the two fit together. It is arranged privately by the family. Our fees are on our FAQ page.
Local support in Richmond
As well as physiotherapy, families often need to know what else is out there. These are local organisations we point people towards.
Age UK Richmond upon Thames — advice, befriending, exercise groups, dementia support and wellbeing centres across the borough. 020 8878 3625.
Richmond Carers Centre — information, advice and support for unpaid carers. 020 8867 2380.
Richmond Council adult social care — 020 8891 7971, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Falls and Bone Health, Richmond — NHS falls clinics at Teddington Memorial Hospital and Centre House; you can refer yourself if you have a Richmond GP.
Richmond Response and Rehabilitation Team — NHS and social care rehabilitation at home, usually for a few days to a few weeks.
Care homes in Richmond
Richmond, Kew and East Sheen have a mix of residential and nursing homes and retirement schemes, from small family-run houses to larger purpose-built homes.
Most of this work is arranged and paid for privately by families — a block of visits after a fall or a hospital stay, or ongoing work to keep someone moving. It sits alongside whatever the home already provides, and we work with their staff so the exercises carry on between our visits. You can read more about additional physiotherapy for residents.
Care home managers in Richmond — get in touch to discuss regular visiting physiotherapy for your residents.
Nearby
We also visit Kingston upon Thames and Wimbledon, and in central London Chelsea, Kensington, Mayfair and Westminster. In south west London we also visit Kingston upon Thames, Twickenham and Teddington. Call 0800 772 0542 or email office@thecaringphysio.co.uk.