Meet the Team

Consultant Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist
Ben has vast experience working as a Musculoskeletal physiotherapist within the NHS, private practice, and sport, and now leads the MSK Physiotherapy service here at St. George’s. He has a Master’s degree in Sports and Exercise Medicine along with post-graduate masters level training in injection therapy, education and supervision and leadership. He has a particular interest in spinal pain, movement dysfunction and exercise, and more recently the role of technology in healthcare. He is passionate about the NHS and strongly believes that prevention is the key to a sustainable NHS for the future.

James Wills

Clinical Operational Lead
James graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 2014 and completed the Advanced Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy MSc at King’s College London in September 2020. He has post-graduate masters level training in injection therapy and non-medical prescribing. He has worked for the St Georges musculoskeletal physiotherapy team since 2017 and currently works as one of the Clinical Operational Leads within the service and as a First Contact Physiotherapist within Battersea Primary Care Network.

Susanna George

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Susanna graduated from Manchester University in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy. She also holds a MSc in Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy from Hertfordshire University. She has specialised in musculoskeletal physiotherapy since 1998 and has been working as an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner (AP) since 2010. She has worked in Nottingham, New Zealand, Australia and Bristol and has worked at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton (now part of St George’s Foundation NHS Trust) since July 1999. She is the clinical lead for the SGH First Contact Physiotherapy (FCP) service and works as an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner (AP) in the SGH MSK service.

Chris Jukes

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Chris has worked as a physiotherapist since 2006. He completed a Masters in advanced musculoskeletal physiotherapy in 2012 and is a member of the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists. He has also completed postgraduate training in spinal manipulation and acupuncture. He works clinically at St. George’s Hospital and lectures in pain neurophysiology at St. George’s University and UCL.

Jai Mistry

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Jai graduated from the University of Nottingham and has subsequently worked in numerous NHS teaching trusts and the private sector. He completed a master’s degree in Advanced Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy from King’s College London in 2015 and is currently doing a PhD at the University of Birmingham.

Simon Nicole

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Simon graduated from the University of Wales College of Medicine in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Neuromuscular Physiotherapy from Hertfordshire University and a Bachelor degree in Sports Rehabilitation with Sport Science from the University of Surrey. He is also qualified in acupuncture. He has worked at St. George’s Hospital as a Physiotherapist since 2010, during this time he has worked in Physiotherapy and Orthoapedics at both St George’s Hospital and St John’s Therapy Centre and in Specialist Musculoskeletal clinics (MICAS) and First Contact Practitioner (FCP) in the community as an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner.

Helen Oakley

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Helen graduated from Birmingham University and has worked in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy in both the NHS and private practice, since 2000. She has post graduate qualifications in injection therapy, acupuncture and advanced manual therapy and rehabilitation. She has a special interest in lower limb rehabilitation. Helen works as a Physiotherapy specialist and as an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner in Orthopaedics and Rheumatology.

Gwawr Owen

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Gwawr studied to become a Physiotherapist at Cardiff University. She has worked as a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist in both the NHS and privately for a number of years and completed her MSc in Advanced Musculoskeletal Medicine at King’s College London in 2014. Gwawr has a dual role in Physiotherapy and as an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner in Orthopaedics. She is qualified in injection therapy, acupuncture, and advanced manual therapy. She has a special interest in lower limb rehabilitation and education of both patients to enable them to best manage their condition and staff, leading on our Work Based Learning Module.

Clare Richards

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Clare qualified as a physiotherapist from Brighton University and has been specialising in Musculoskeletal physiotherapy experience since 2000 within the NHS in a variety of specialities including A&E and Fracture clinic, Haemophilia and Rehabilitation for a large range of spinal and joint conditions. Clare is joint injection trained and has completed Master’s modules in post-graduate training, and now works as an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner in specialist musculoskeletal clinics in the Community and within Orthopaedics. Clare has a special interest in general exercise, health and well-being.

Gemma Shearer

Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner
Gemma qualified from the Birmingham University in 2004 and has worked as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist at St. George’s Hospital since 2008. She has also worked privately and in ski resorts. She completed a post graduate diploma in Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy in 2017 at Hertfordshire University. She has post graduate qualifications in injection therapy, acupuncture and pilates. Gemma has a dual role in Physiotherapy and as an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner in St George’s Shoulder Unit, which she joined in 2015.

Ben Bowling

Highly Specialised Physiotherapist
Ben graduated as a physiotherapist from Sheffield Hallam University 2013. He completed his junior rotations at St George’s hospital completing specialist rotations such as Amputee rehabilitation. He has been a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist since 2017 with a specialist interest in major trauma rehabilitation, return to sport rehabilitation and the management of chronic conditions through exercise and education.

Chris Cleaver

Highly Specialised Physiotherapist
Chris has been a part of the St Georges MSK team since 2017 and is a Team Lead Therapist at St Johns Therapy Centre. He also works in Battersea PCN in a First contact practitioner role where he manages patients directly in the community. Chris has been an MSK Therapist for 6 years and has recently gained his post graduate MSc in Advanced Manipulative Physiotherapy. Chris has experience in managing a variety of patient groups from trauma survivors to people with long term conditions. He is passionate about delivering excellent rehabilitation to the diverse population of Wandsworth.

Mike Dunn

Highly Specialised Physiotherapist
Mike qualified from St. George’s University of London in 2013. He has worked as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist both privately and in the NHS having joined the MSK team at St. George’s Hospital in 2014. He is currently completing an MSc in research of musculoskeletal pain as well as Masters modules in Advanced Clinical Practice. Mike has a particular interest in persistent musculoskeletal pain and is a strong advocate for exercise and education as the primary treatment, however also holds qualifications in acupuncture, advanced manual therapy and hydrotherapy.

Sophie George

Highly Specialised Physiotherapist
Sophie graduated in 2014 from the University of the West of England. She has been working in Musculoskeletal physiotherapy for the last 6 years, Sophie has a wide range of experience in MSK across different trusts nationally and this involved gaining experience in brain injury and respiratory physiotherapy. She has worked in various places and cities across England. She has a special interest in high level rehabilitation and major trauma rehabilitation and currently specialises in this area. She is a keen tennis player and enjoys rehabbing people back to playing tennis and other sports.

Jennifer Fernando

Highly Specialised Physiotherapist
Jennifer graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2012 and since this time has worked in the area of MSK physiotherapy both in the NHS and private practice. She has been working at QMH since 2017 and her current role is as a team lead physiotherapist as well as working within the haemophilia team at St Georges Hospital. She is currently completing an Advanced Clinical Practice MSc and as a keen triathlete in her spare time her specialist interests lie in high level rehabilitation and return to sport.

Jack Jeffrey

Highly Specialised Physiotherapist
Jack qualified from The University of Birmingham and has worked as a physiotherapist since 2012. He has a special interest in upper limb disorders (shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands). Whilst he was working at a regional nerve and trauma centre in Birmingham he produced and presented research around the care of patients with upper limb nerve disorders which has been shared internationally. He has a keen interest in incorporating research into practice.

Theresa Sharland

Highly Specialised Physiotherapist
Theresa has worked at St. George’s since 2005 and specialised within musculoskeletal physiotherapy since 2010. She really enjoys being a physiotherapist and all it has to offer and has a specialist interest in blending the principles of strength and conditioning into everyday fun and functional rehabilitation for patients of all ages and walks of life to ensure everyone has the opportunity to return to their desired levels of activity. She currently splits her time as a team lead at QMH and leading on the deployment of the Wandsworth self-referral app to all 40 GP practices within Wandsworth.

Emily Cowles

Specialised Physiotherapist
Emily qualified from the University of Birmingham in 2013. She has been working for the NHS for since 2014; prior to that she volunteered for the MS Society. She is has worked in a variety of different Physiotherapy Departments before specialising in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. She is due to complete her Acupuncture course in 2020. Emily is currently completing a rotation in Pelvic Health.

Nic Cox

Specialised Physiotherapist
Nic has worked as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist in both the NHS and privately. She is trained in acupuncture and Pilates and is based at Queen Mary’s hospital. Nic enjoys treating a wide variety of conditions including the spine but she particularly enjoys management of peripheral joints, sporting injuries & rehabilitation.

Sammy Gough

Specialised Physiotherapist
Sammy qualified from Brighton University on the Sunshine Coast in 2017 and began her physiotherapy career at University Hospitals Sussex Trust where she completed all her core rotations.
She specialised in Musculoskeletal physiotherapy in 2019 before making the move to London joining the St George’s team in the summer of 2021. Since moving to London, Sammy has begun working with a local rugby team providing pitch side cover and assessment/treatment of sporting injuries. She is hoping to complete her AACP Acupuncture Course this year to add more strings to her bow and have the ability to offer a variety of treatment options to her patients.

Stephanie Lupano

Specialised Physiotherapist
Steph qualified from St. George’s University in 2017 after completing an undergraduate degree in Sports Science at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham. Since 2018, Steph has worked as a rotational physiotherapist at St. George’s Hospital, completing her rotations which includes Musculoskeletal Outpatients with Hydrotherapy, Trauma and Orthopaedics, and Amputees. Steph specialised in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy in 2021 and is qualified in sports massage and acupuncture. She has a particular interest in developing holistic approaches for her service users’ needs and is passionate about her work. She takes pride in connecting holistically with her patients during their physiotherapy journey.

Eoin Murphy

Specialised Physiotherapist
Eoin qualified from King’s College London in 2018 after completing a pre-registration master’s degree in Physiotherapy. He previously completed an undergraduate degree in Sports Science and Health at Technological University Dublin, Ireland. He has worked in Musculoskeletal physiotherapy since 2018. He has an interest in sports injuries and rehabilitation from his experience working in sports with elite Gaelic Football teams as a physiotherapist. He intends to complete his master’s degree in sports and exercise medicine in the future.

Paul Sweeney

Specialised Physiotherapist
Paul qualified as a physiotherapist in 2018 after completing a pre-registration master’s degree in Physiotherapy at King’s College London. He previously completed an undergraduate degree in Sports and Exercise Sciences at the University of Limerick, Ireland. He has worked in a variety of different specialities before specialising in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy in 2020. He is passionate about how physiotherapy treatment can help improve public health, specifically through influencing behaviour change and promoting the benefits of physical activity and exercise.

Charlotte Walker

Specialised Physiotherapist
Charlotte qualified as a Physiotherapist from the University of Southampton and began working within the NHS in 2017. She has worked as a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist since 2018 and joined the team here at St George’s in 2019. She has also worked two seasons for an amateur rugby club alongside her NHS role. She has particular interests in the rehabilitation of sporting injuries, particularly ACLs and shoulders.

Eloise Wilson

Specialised Physiotherapist
Eloise qualified as a physiotherapist from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand in 2020. She began working within the NHS in 2021 and joined the St George’s Musculoskeletal team that same year after locuming at a few trusts within London. Eloise has completed her acupuncture course and works with an amateur rugby club alongside her NHS role. She is currently on the major trauma musculoskeletal rotation and has an interest in complex fractures. Eloise is very passionate about empowering patients along their rehabilitation journey.

Will Byron

Specialised Physiotherapist
Will completed an undergraduate degree in Medical Sciences before graduating from Brunel University in 2019 with an MSc in Physiotherapy. He has since worked at St George’s in a rotational position, gaining experience in multiple specialties of physiotherapy. He has recently been lucky enough to start his second rotation in the Musculoskeletal Team, where he hopes to specialise and progress.

Cecilia Ortega

Physiotherapy Assistants
Cecilia has been working as an Assistant Physiotherapist from 2004. She has years of experience working in trauma, orthopaedics and oncology including hydrotherapy in a private hospital, and has been working in the NHS since 2018.