“My parents were told I would never read or write” Whittington physio inspiring the next generation

Sarah Batehup is a Senior Physiotherapist and AHP Clinical Lead at Whittington Health NHS Trust with over 15-years of experience. Sarah is also registered legally blind. Sarah tells her story of having a thriving career and being an advocate for disabled rights in the workplace.

Born with a rare eye condition, Sarah’s parents were told that she would never be able to read or write or live independently. Sarah was determined to prove them wrong.

As Sarah’s vision started to become worse. Doctors told Sarah that she could become fully blind within the next couple of years. Sarah started to look into career options that would suit her needs and discovered the history between visually impaired people and physiotherapy.

The relationship between those who are visually impaired, and physiotherapy goes back to the 1940’s. After World War Two, many people came back from war with visual impairments which greatly reduced their job opportunities. Many people were trained as masseurs, where the role of the physio grew from. Over time with advances in science and medicine physiotherapy grew into what we know it to be today. 

This is when the idea of the North London School of Physiotherapy was born. The school aimed to teach those who were blind or have visual impairments to be Physiotherapists. “Many people with visual impairments have a greater sense of touch and empathy making them great Physios” Sarah said.

On 6 June 1978, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second opened the North London School of Physiotherapy, based at the Whittington Hospital in Archway and supported by the Royal National Institute for Blind People. Students lived, trained and worked at the facility during the over the 20-years in operation. The site closed in 1995 as people with visual impairments found it easier to go to mainstream university. 

Inspired by this history, Sarah enrolled in the Physiotherapy programme at the University of Hertfordshire. After completing her training, she joined Whittington Health, and began working with patients in the community. She did not let her visual impairment get in the way, making her own way to appointments and developing great bonds with her patients when visiting them in their own homes.

Sarah was invited to be part of a unique pilot program which brought together a community matron, mental health nurse, pharmacist, social worker, and physio to work with the most complex and vulnerable patients. The programme evolved into the Multi-Agency Care & Coordination Team (MACCT) that it is known as today with over 30 staff members working in the team “This program brought all the services a patient may need together to offer the best holistic care; it was an honour to be the first physio invited to join the MACC team” Sarah said.

Over time, the number of visually impaired physios slowly began to drop. Sarah became the last legally blind physio graduate in the UK still working within the NHS. That was until Sarah meet Mike.

At the start of this year (2024) Sarah received an email from Mike, a legally blind student looking to do a physio placement. Mike had done his research and reached out to Sarah after learning about her online.

Sarah jumped at the opportunity to train the next generation of visually impaired physios. Travelling to London from the University of Canterbury, Mike was anxious to visit the big smoke and start his placement. After meeting with Sarah and the team, Mike instantly felt at ease and by his third day Mike was making his own way around London and meeting the team at patients’ homes. Mike worked alongside Sarah and the MACC team for six weeks, honing his craft and getting valuable on-the-job training. Sarah said, “It was great to have Mike on the team. He was nervous when he started but went away feeling like he can do this and felt ready to complete his training”.

Sarah recently visited Mike’s class at the University of Canterbury and delivered a guest lecture teaching a module on complex frailty.

Nearly fifteen-years after joining Whittington Health, Sarah is now the AHP clinical lead for the MACC team that has since expanded and become a permanent feature at Whittington Health. She manages a team of ten AHPs and is the first visual impaired personal to study an Advanced Clinical Practice masters at the Trust. Sarah loves her role and the people that she works with. “I have an incredible team around me who promote inclusivity and never make me feel like an inconvenience”.

Aside from her day job, Sarah was involved in setting up Whitability, staff disability network at the Trust and was the Chair of Association of Visually Impaired Chartered Physiotherapists advocating for rights and resources to support people with a disability until it recently disbanded after 106 years of supporting blind and visual impaired physios. In 2022, Sarah won AHP of the year at the annual Whittington Health AHP awards and recently a staff Extra Mile Award.

“Diversity is important and brings different perspectives to a team. As long as staff are accepting, actively listen, and support each other, it is just like having any other staff member in your team” Sarah said.

Sarah is proud to be an Allied Health Professional “AHPs are special people. We are empathetic, creative and innovative. We see people as more than just their condition/illness. I am glad to work in such an amazing team and that we have a day to celebrate us AHPs.” says Sarah.