Author, philanthropist and burns survivor Katie Piper officially launches the country’s first ever Burns Rehabilitation Centre in June 2019. Katie Piper, through her charity The Katie Piper Foundation has been working for years behind the scenes to make this facility a reality for those with burns and scars in the UK. Based at Fairfield Independent Hospital in, St Helens Merseyside, the Centre aims to treat twenty patients in the first 12 months of opening. Offering patients access to adapted on-site bungalow accommodation the Centre quietly opened its doors in 2018, welcoming patients to help develop the service and now it officially launches.
This Centre and pioneering programme really is the first of its kind in the UK – there are similar facilities in Europe and now it’s time for the UK to have its own. For nearly 10 years, The Katie Piper Foundation have provided a vital service and given help to thousands of burns survivors. As a registered charity Fairfield Independent Hospital have over 45 years’ experience running a high quality health facility with a renowned physiotherapy team and tranquil grounds which makes it the perfect partnership, perfect setting and perfect joining of expertise.
Once the fantastic work of the NHS Burns Service is done, The Katie Piper Foundation Rehabilitation Centre becomes a sanctuary for a patient’s next steps. Care will range from scar management therapy techniques and unrivalled physiotherapy treatment, to mental health support for those who are often hard hit by their burns trauma. This specialist team enable huge leaps in the path of recovery, using their longstanding skills as well as utilising new cutting-edge equipment that is rarely available for survivors of burns.
The Katie Piper Foundation Rehabilitation Centre aims to deliver over 3,000 hours of direct care, treatment and activities in the first 12 months of opening. Katie and the team look forward to sharing what will be remarkable stories of progress and positivity of those whose lives will have changed course, thanks to their commitment to rehabilitation at The Centre.
Katie comments, ‘The Rehabilitation Centre has been a goal of mine and The Katie Piper Foundation since the very start. Developing this service with burns patients at its heart, has been a rewarding and challenging process but we’re finally at the finish line and we’re now ready to welcome patients. It’s a very big moment for myself, the team and the patients – it’s also a huge step forward for us as a charity. This charity is powered by the generosity of people and companies without any government funding so this is a huge milestone for me and everyone who has supported it. This year is the charity’s tenth anniversary which is a huge milestone, so it really does make this announcement that extra bit special!’
Professor Kayvan Shokrollahi, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon and Medical Director of The Katie Piper Foundation said ‘I see people every day with a wide range of injuries including house fires to occupational injuries, accidents and sometimes assaults – injuries that can happen to anyone. Our patients have sustained terrible injuries and have survived and reached the point of discharge from hospital, thanks to the fantastic care they have received in the NHS in the relatively small number of burns units in the UK. After discharge, burns survivors can now come to stay on site at this new and innovative rehabilitation centre based at Fairfield Independent Hospital to help rebuild their lives.’
