Our People

Our therapists are very special people, with a wealth of experience in their specific discipline whilst being well-versed in specialist Bobath therapy techniques. Behind the scenes, our small complement of administrative and support staff keep the centre running smoothly.

Catharina (Rina) van der Walt - Head of Therapy

Rina qualified as a speech & language therapist and audiologist in South Africa in 1973. She worked primarily with children with cerebral palsy at special schools and in private practice after she completed her Bobath/NDT training in 1978. Rina also specialised in the treatment of adults with acquired neurological communication disorders, eating and drinking difficulties, and worked with this clinical group in the Republic of Ireland in 2002-2004. Rina is a senior Bobath tutor and has taught courses in management of children and adults with neurological disorders in several countries.  She worked as senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa before she joined Bobath Scotland as Head of Therapy in April 2008.

Philip Vervaeke - Physiotherapist

Philip (better known as Filip) trained in Leuven, Belgium and qualified as a physiotherapist in 1995. He did a specialising year in manual therapy in 1995-1996 before moving to Glasgow in 1997. He worked for two years in a general hospital in Glasgow and three years in community paediatrics in Lanarkshire. In 1999-2000 he completed a post-graduate distance learning course in Clinical Gait Analysis at the University of Strathclyde. Philip joined the team at Bobath Scotland in January 2002.

Lesley Nutton - Physiotherapist

Lesley trained as a physiotherapist in Manchester and qualified in 1986. She has worked in large teaching hospitals in Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle as well as in the community based at a special needs school. She has gained a wide range of experience working within the paediatric field in a number of regional specialities based in Newcastle, with a special interest in acquired brain injury. Lesley and her family relocated to Scotland in 2005 and she joined Bobath Scotland in 2007.

Claire McMillan - Speech & Language Therapist (currently on maternity leave)

Claire qualified as a speech & language therapist from the University of Strathclyde in 1998. She worked with children in clinics, special schools and nurseries in Lanarkshire from 1998 – 2002. In early 2002 she left to spend some time in Tunisia working as a speech & language therapist with a charity, working alongside and training local educators and therapists, especially in the use of augmentative and alternative communication systems. She began working at Bobath Scotland shortly after she returned from Tunisia in November 2004.

Sandra Mackay - Occupational Therapist

Sandra qualified as occupational therapist from the Robert Gordon University of Aberdeen in 1999. After qualifying, Sandra initially worked with adults before joining the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh in 2000. Throughout this post she was based at a number of different special schools where she worked with a wide range of children/young people, but predominantly those with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions. Sandra joined the Bobath team in January 2009.

Kirsteen Grieve - Physiotherapist

Kirsteen joined the Bobath Scotland therapy team on 16th April 2012 and went on to take the Bobath Foundation Course to train as paediatric Bobath therapist. She qualified as a physiotherapist from Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh in 1998. Kirsteen has worked as paediatric therapist in the NHS in Scotland and more recently at The Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments (Craighalbert Centre) in Cumbernauld. Kirsteen has also worked with adults as part of a rehabilitation team in New Zealand, where she completed a 3-week Introductory Bobath Course in the treatment of adults with neurological conditions.

Other Staff

The  other staff who help keep our our Cerebral Palsy Therapy Centre running include administrative, fundraising and support staff:

Stephanie Fraser - Chief Executive

Margaret Mooney - Family Receptionist

Anne Cummings - Family Co-ordinator

Gillian Russell - Therapy Assistant

Clare Lappin - Head of Fundraising

Jess Rundell - Fundraising Assistant

Ann Whiteford - Housekeeping