The Pulvertaft Hand Centre was named after Guy Pulvertaft (1907-1986), who was an internationally renowned surgeon at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary from 1947 until his retirement in 1972. The unit relocated from the site of the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary to its current premises in the King’s Treatment Centre, at the Royal Derby Hospital in 2009.
The staff of the Pulvertaft Hand Centre work very much as a multi-disciplinary team - there are 11 consultants, 7 junior doctors from either orthopaedic or plastic surgery background. It has its own dedicated hand therapy, nursing and theatre teams, with nurse and therapy practitioners also running independent clinics. There is a dedicated day case facility which operates throughout the week.
About Hand Therapy
The Hand Therapy team are a large and busy team. In 2018-2019 the hand therapy team saw 6870 new patients, with 18136 follow ups. Currently the team comprises our team leader Sarah Burke, 2 Hand Therapy Practitioners, 29 Hand Therapists (Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists), 1 Assistant Practitioner, 3 Hand Therapy Assistants and 2 admin support staff. We are also incredibly fortunate to have 2 Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapists that work alongside us.
We provide a hand therapy service alongside the clinics that run Monday - Friday in the Hand Centre. During these sessions you will be assessed by a hand therapist and provided with an individual treatment programme, including any exercises or splints that you may require. In some cases you may not need any further treatment, but for those that need on-going rehabilitation we can organise scheduled out-patient appointments as required. During these out-patient appointment sessions you will have time with your therapist so that you can discuss any problems that you may have. They will then assess your progress, and update your treatment programme as required.
You may be referred to one of our hand therapy assistant practitioners or hand therapy assistants for them to carry out a prescribed treatment programme with you. This may include supervised exercise, scar management, pressure garment fabrication, help with any functional problem solving etc.
In addition to the 1:1 out-patient clinics, we also run a number of group sessions throughout the week. These include hand rehabilitation workshops, upper limb conditioning groups and also an osteoarthritis of the thumb education group. You may be invited to join these groups as part of your rehabilitation or treatment for your hand problem.
Our Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapists are also on hand to help you overcome the emotional aspect of a hand injury. We know that our hands are incredibly important to our everyday lives both physically and emotionally. In recent years there has been an appreciation that the psychological impact of a hand injury can be huge, and should not be underestimated. We can refer you to see one of our CBP therapists if required
Directions
We are located on Level 2 of the King's Treatment Centre at the Royal Derby Hospital.
Pulvertaft Hand Centre
Royal Derby Hospital
Kings Treatment Centre (KTC) Level 2
Uttoxeter Road
Derby
DE22 3NE
