The Team

Helen Long – BSc (Hons) PGDip OT

Helen graduated from the University of Bath Spa in 1994 with a degree in Combined Social Sciences.  She went on to train at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, gaining a post graduate diploma in Occupational Therapy from Queen Mary and Westfield University (University of London) in 1996.

Helen stayed in East London completing a basic grade rotation before starting on her journey into her Stroke and Acquired Brain Injury specialism.  As a Specialist Occupational Therapist, Helen gained valuable work experience working with Neurologically impaired patients in Sydney, Australia and at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Colorado Springs, America.  She returned to Portsmouth in 2001 where she gained a clinical speciality post in an adult Neuro Rehabilitation Team where she rotated between the acute hospital unit, the Rehabilitation unit and the Community Rehabilitation team.

Helen arrived on the Isle of Wight in 2007 and has been the Clinical Team Lead Occupational Therapist in the NHS Community Rehabilitation Team at St. Mary’s Hospital until August 2024.  She now works privately.

Helen has a passion for teaching and training others and keeps her clinical professional development up to date by attending national conferences, as well as other local conferences at Wessex Neuro in Southampton.  She is a member of the Moving Advice and Support team at St. Mary’s Hospital and has completed the People Handling and Risk Assessment Key Trainer’s Certificate.  This is an advanced Level 4 Customised Award endorsed by RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents).

Kristian Long – BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy, MCSP.

Kristian graduated from the University of Southampton with a BSC (hons) Physiotherapy degree in 2007. He completed his basic grade rotation at St Mary’s hospital before successfully specialising as a Senior Physiotherapist in a dual role, including Musculoskeletal (MSK) out-patients within the hospital, peripheral clinics, the prison service and working at the Earl Mountbatten Hospice with clients diagnosed with a wide variety of long term conditions or requiring palliative care.  He also became part of the Respiratory on-call team over evenings and weekends.

Kristian’s career progressed further in 2011 when he gained a senior rotational post including MSK out-patients, Trauma and Elective Orthopaedics, and Community Rehabilitation. It was in this position that he began developing his managerial skills, gaining additional qualifications which led to him being successfully seconded for a year as the Orthopaedic Team Lead.

In 2015, Kristian was appointed as a Clinical Specialist in Musculoskeletal out-patients operating out of a number of peripheral clinics across the island.

Kristian commenced a Clinical Specialist Team Lead Physiotherapy role in 2016 in the Community Rehabilitation team.  In April 2020 Kristian was successful in gaining the Team Lead position in Musculoskeletal Out-patients where he remained until mid 2024 when he returned back to the community therapy services to focus purely on his clinical work.

Kristian has undertaken a number of extended scope qualifications including an Introduction to Bobath (BBTA) and a number of Society of Orthopaedic Medicine modules (SOMM).  He is an accredited McKenzie back care specialist in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy, and holds an Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (AACP) Acupuncture qualification.  More recently Kristian successfully completed a masters (MSC) module in Injection Therapy. He is considering further MSC modules and ‘Independent prescribing’ in the future.

Kristian is passionate about sharing his specialist knowledge and skills and enjoys delivering clinical, evidence-based training sessions to junior staff and other multi-disciplinary team members.

Stephanie Brett BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapist

Stephanie graduated from the University of East Anglia in 2008.  She secured her first position as an adult community speech and language therapist shortly after this developing her specialism within in adult neurology, including acquired brain injury, stroke and degenerative diseases.  She treats both communication and swallowing (dysphagia) disorders.  Stephanie worked for over 10 years in the NHS in a variety of settings which has included clients homes, day centres, residential and nursing homes.

Stephanie returned to her home, the Isle of Wight in 2020, where she joined  IRP as a specialist speech and language therapist.  Stephanie is trained to carry out Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT), an intensive evidence based therapy programme, to clients with Parkinson’s disease. She also has a post graduate dysphagia qualification and over 10 years of experience in assessing, diagnosing and treating swallowing disorders.

Stephanie hugely enjoys teaching and training others and offers communication and swallowing (dysphagia) training to whole staff groups within nursing and residential homes.  Stephanie is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist’s (RCSLT) and the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP).

Ron has over 13 years of health care experience in various hospital and community settings.

He started his Nursing training in Lyceum University of the Philippines Batangas (Undergraduate) and continued his education in the UK.

He is currently working as a Manual Handling Instructor/Back Care Technician at St. Mary’s Hospital providing specialist moving and handling training to a wide range of staff.

Ron has a Level 4 BTEC Professional Award in Safe People Handling Training through the Royal Society of Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA).

He has worked within a multi-disciplinary team for over 8 years but most recently worked as a physiotherapy associate practitioner in the community rehabilitation service, providing rehabilitation to clients in their own homes.

Ron is also a Qualified Specialist Postural Stability instructor, Otago and chair-based exercise instructor who can deliver tailored strength and balance exercises to help prevent falls and reduce injuries in frailer older people.

Additionally, Ron has completed a health and social care certificate within the Open University and ‘Bridging the gap’ programme in health care accredited by Southampton Solent University.

Elaine has 30 years of health care experience in care homes and the community. The last 15 years working for the NHS as a rehabilitation assistant and associate practioneer within a multi-disciplinary team providing a rehabilitation service to clients in their own homes as well as nursing homes, working with a wide range of conditions including parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, brain injuries, stroke and weaknesses from surgery.

Elaine has a NVQ 3 in care, Health and Social Care Certificate with the Open University and ‘Bridging the gap’ programme in health care accredited by Southampton Solent University. Elaine also has NCFE’s level 2 in Understanding and Prevention of MRSA, Dementia Awareness and level 3 in Palliative Care as well as a BTEC award in Infection Control

Elaine is a Qualified Specialist Postural Stability instructor , Otago and chair-based exercise instructor who can deliver tailored strength and balance exercises to help prevent falls and reduce injuries in frailer older people