Shandon Scott is the lead physiotherapist at Habit Rehabilitation.
Shandon Scott is the lead physiotherapist at Habit Rehabilitation.
A multi-disciplinary health service has opened its doors at Inspire Health and Fitness Centre.
Habit Rehabilitation, part of the Habit Group which operates in various locations throughout New Zealand, opened its Whanganui clinic in the Wilson St premises on July 22.
Shandon Scott, who is originally from Northern Ireland andhas lived in Whanganui for three years, is the lead physiotherapist.
A keen rugby player who has represented Whanganui, Scott previously worked for a local physiotherapy clinic. He has been working for Habit in Palmerston North for the past six months and is happy to be working in Whanganui again.
"We offer a number of different contracts that ACC provides. We also take private clients.
"We can submit a claim on the client's behalf to ACC and we can liaise with ACC about what the client needs. However, if the client is unfit for work they will need a medical certificate from their GP for that."
Physiotherapist Shandon Scott has access to the adjacent Inspire gym to work with his clients.
Habit provides physiotherapy for clients who have been injured and are registered with ACC. There is also occupational therapy support to help people stay at work or get back to work on light duties.
"They would get physiotherapy in conjunction with that stay at work programme to help get them back to full duties as soon as possible," Scott said.
"Some people lose their job if they have an injury and ACC places them on a back-to-work programme. As well as physiotherapy, we can provide a vocational consultant. The role of the physiotherapist is ideally to get them to the same physical state as they were when they were doing their job. If that can be achieved, the vocational consultant helps them with their CV, interview and job preparation."
There is also a pain management service that usually involves physio and occupational therapy and, for complex pain clients, input from psychologists.
A headache and concussion service helps with building up exercise tolerance, balance rehabilitation and occupational therapy to help people return to daily living activities.
Advanced technology provides detailed gait scans and bio-mechanical analysis and other services include workstation assessments, workplace training and acupuncture.
"We cover a variety of services that ACC offers," Scott said.
"Habit is trying to get as many disciplines as possible under one roof to meet clients' needs.
"People often come to us with long-term injuries. I do quite a lot of work with people in the [Inspire] gym to help get them back into sport or hobbies. Sometimes they want to spend more time with the grandkids or be able to walk around the bridges or they might want to run a marathon. We tailor the treatment for their individual needs.
"If they're training for a marathon, we can do a bio-mechanical analysis and gait scan and give them a tailored training programme, then monitor them through their programme."
Habit Group is also expanding its OKHealth brand in Whanganui, providing occupational health services including pre-employment health checks and drug and alcohol testing.
