Inpatient Rehabilitation Team

Remi Katsande

Director & Registered Manager

Remi is a registered mental health nurse.

Following completion of his nurse education in London he worked in some of the most challenging inner city acute mental health wards in northwest London. This was followed by a stint as ward manager in Liverpool and senior community nurse back in London. His itchy feet soon took him to Bexhill-on-Sea where he worked as service manager of a 72 bed low and medium secure mental health hospital.

Remi joined Peartree House as General manager/ Registered manager in 2009. Over the years he has continued to provide the overall leadership of the service overseeing several developments and sustained quality improvements which have helped Peartree to cement its place as a local partner to the NHS.

Remi is proud to lead a service with a unique profile spanning inpatients to community rehab and care ensuring our clients , therapist and complex care workers benefit from the experience that comes with having a large interdisciplinary team working alongside each other from the same base.

Remi is also proud of the team Peartree has put together over the years which has been instrumental in the continuous innovation of our approaches to neurorehabilitation & complex care, and strengthening of mutually beneficial links with our commissioners, Headway and our role as a placement for OT, physiotherapy and trainee psychologist from University of Southampton and Winchester University.

Remi is passionate about providing value to our customers, both from being transparent about every pound they pay to challenging the team to achieve excellent outcomes in rehabilitation in the shortest period and quality of life.

Currently Remi holds the roles of Director, Registered Manager and Nominated Individual.

Chelsea Bailey

Clinical Lead

Lucie Myall

Specialist Neurological Physiotherapist

I graduated from the University of East London with a BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy in 1999. I began my early career at a large London teaching hospital and first became interested in brain injury whilst working in neurosurgery and intensive care with patients from the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS).

I began working for Peartree House Rehabilitation in Southampton, firstly in 2007 and again in 2011 after a career break travelling through Africa and the Middle East. Other posts in Southampton, London and Winchester have enabled me to gain extensive varied experience both in the community; with critically ill patients requiring rehabilitation and on a specialist stroke unit.

My particular interests lie in complex spasticity, seating and posture management and I am an accredited Posture Management Assessor for Solent NHS Trust. I am Bobath trained and have attended the Basic and three Advanced level courses. As well regular annual conference attendance, I participate in regular CPD sessions throughout the year with colleagues to keep abreast of new research/developments and to continue advancement of clinical practice not only in my own practice but in that of my team

I am team orientated and encourage a nurturing and knowledge building leadership style as part of a 24 hour approach to rehabilitation. I am passionate about not only brain injury and neurological physiotherapy but about education and teaching others. I regularly support students as a Clinical Educator and contribute towards practical teaching in a local university.

Outside of work, I fundraise and volunteer as a Seating Expert with ‘Wheels for the World’, a Christian charity distributing wheelchairs to some of the world’s most vulnerable people and have completed trips to Uganda and Kenya. I am passionate about promoting inclusion and participation in activity for all, regardless of ability and volunteer with charitable agencies both at home as well as abroad. I enjoy running, walking, cycling, yoga, reading, cooking and nutrition, travelling and scuba diving, all of which provide me with opportunities and skills that positively influence my clinical practice.

Warren Dunger

Clinical Neuropsychologist

Hi, my name is Warren and I am the Lead Clinical Neuropsychologist at Peartree House Neurorehabilitation. I have worked in healthcare for over 13 years which has included various stroke and neurorehabilitation services throughout Hampshire and Sussex. At Peartree, I work across both the residential and community services either directly providing neuropsychological assessment and interventions, or indirectly through consultation and supervision. Outside of Peartree, I am a Senior Teaching Fellow in Clinical Neuropsychology and Neuropsychology Lead at the University of Southampton, which includes lecturing and undertaking research. I have also been on the Board of Trustees for Headway Portsmouth and Southeast Hampshire since 2018. I am passionate about supporting people who have been affected by a neurological condition and helping them to live full, meaningful lives.

Lorna Hepworth

Specialist Neurological Occupational Therapist

I’m Lorna Hepworth, Specialist Neurological Occupational Therapist and Lead Occupational Therapist for Peartree House’s OT team.  As an OT, my role is to enable people to maximise their participation and independence in any and all activities. Using a variety of methods, skills and tools I assess the clients’ physical, sensory, cognitive and visual skills, and identify how these impact on their ability to do daily tasks. Together, we then make a treatment plan to help overcome any challenges so that they can achieve their goals. I employ a mix of approaches to best help my clients achieve their goals. I love working jointly with my other therapy and nursing colleagues.

I’ve been an OT since 2003, and working in Neuro since 2007. I’ve worked on wards, rehab units, A&E and even spent time working in the mental health sector. Most of my experience has been in the community which really developed my skills for flexible thinking, team work and putting the patient first. I’m skilled in the treatment of the neurological upper limb, as well as cognitive, perceptual and behavioural assessment and treatment, functional neurological disorder and have in-depth knowledge of the return to driving process post-brain injury.

I’m now enjoying working at Peartree – especially with such a complex and diverse range of clients where my creative problem solving skills are being put to the test! I really value getting to know my clients and their loved ones, and making their therapy as individual as they are. This also means my job is really varied- from helping someone to shower, to going shopping, baking cakes (my favourite!), to being able to play computer games, even going to the gym and swimming. Peartree are really focused on developing the knowledge and skills of the entire team – from assistants to nurses to support workers – and I’m really pleased to be part of this process and seeing the positive changes it’s bringing about. Peartree is a great place to work, where no two days are ever the same!

Charlotte Spacagna

Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

My name is Charlotte and I am the lead speech and language therapist at Peartree House. It can be a mouthful to say, so you may hear or read the acronym SALT or SLT. As a speech and language therapist at Peartree House, it is my job to assess, manage or treat a range of communication and swallowing impairments. My passion is helping our residents to, where possible, regain the things that are most important to them, by either reducing impairments or reducing the impact of the impairments they have. For some, this could include eating and drinking small amounts of food, drink or flavoured foam for their quality of life, or supporting communication abilities through mouth or voice strengthening exercises or communication aids.

Across my time in practice as a speech and language therapist, I have worked in a range of settings with adults who have had strokes, brain injuries or a range of other neurological conditions. In my previous NHS Trust, I have worked with people in hospital and the community, and very quickly came to love the opportunities with inpatient neurorehabilitation. With lots of people coming to Peartree for either a temporary or permanent stay, I really enjoy building new connections while we support both the individual and their family in what can be a really scary or challenging time. I work closely with the rest of the team here at Peartree to achieve the best outcome for our residents.

Would you like to contact one of our Inpatient Team?

We accept referrals from any healthcare and social care professional or case manager. Individuals can also self-refer. Please fill out the form below and we’ll make sure to get back to you.

Email: remi.katsande@peartreerehab.co.uk

Alternatively, please phone us on 023 8044 8168