As noted in the ‘Healthcare for All’ publication by Sir Jonathan Michael, “many families receive no support or advice about how to manage the sleeping position of their child...later wheelchair use and/or back surgery could have been avoided.”

By delivering accredited courses the Postural Care Skills Programme empowers families, individuals and professionals to make a difference to the lives of those affected by movement difficulties. 

Including Postural Care within a Personal Health Budget (PHB)

There are 2 aspects to the inclusion of night time postural care and protection of body shape within a personal health budget: training and equipment provision. 

The costs are calculated for a Personal Assistant Team of 12 although these can easily be recalculated for smaller / larger teams.

Year 1

Annual costs thereafter

Annual costs include accredited training for the whole team.  In many cases this will not be necessary but the cost saving if staff were retained could be put towards any equipment that requires replacement or short refresher courses for the PA Team.

Intended benefits or outcomes associated with improved postural care:

• Prevention of any further changes in body shape
• Depending on the age of the person correction of existing changes in body shape
• Measurement of body symmetry will provide evidence of the either stabilisation or correction of body shape
• Improvements in muscle tone
• Decreased pain and distress associated with lack of support through the night
• Improvements in breathing and digestion
• Decreased need for complex aids and adaptations (a person with complex healthcare needs will always require excellent seating and support regards moving and handling but the complexity of such equipment may decrease)
• Improved quality of life

For further information or to discuss the specific training needs of your team please contact Sarah at Sarah@posturalcareskills.com or call on 01827 304938 or 07729 552626.

For further information on Personal Health Budgets www.personalhealthbudgets.dh.gov.uk/

Our course textbook is available at £25 including VAT, with FREE postage within the UK.  Email Sarah@posturalcareskills.com to order your copy.  The book has six sections, Identification of need, Pain and consent, Physical Assessment, Therapeutic positioning at night, Achieving thermal comfort and a family led protection of body shape care pathway.

Scoliosis Management - Postural Care CIC are available to deliver one to one support for individuals wishing to use conservative means to treat their scoliosis.  Please contact the office directly for further information.

Please click on the boxes above for details of our various courses or click to visit our booking request page.

Feedback from recent training events...

'I write to thank Postural Care for the conference held in Tamworth last week. I was very impressed with the day's events, it was clear to see that a wonderful effort had been made by all involved. The day delivered a powerful message with practical suggestions which i found very helpful. Considering that my attendance from [location anonymised] was an eight hour round trip, the day was most worthwhile and one not to be missed. Many thanks again.'

'Being given visual examples of the massive benefits of postural care and management made a huge and memorable impact.'

'They provided a truly excellent programme with plenty of opportunity for participants to engage in discussions and demonstrations. It was entertaining, thought-provoking, inspiring, and educational, and there was a huge value in bringing together such a diverse audience to take part.'

'One of the best days I've been on.'

'Great to see your enthusiasm - it's infectious!'

'Exceptionally presented.'

'The information we received today is brilliant. We needed this help...'

'Very interesting and enlightening...'

'More people should have attended! Their loss!'

'I found the day very informative and very moving.'