Ben was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was born and also has right sided hemiplegia, which causes weakness in the right side of his body, mainly his arm and leg.
He was treated at Alder Hey from 2 years old and was looked after by our physiotherapy team. Fast forward to the present, and Ben works in the same team that looked after him as a community physiotherapy assistant.
Having worked as a teaching assistant originally, Ben was approached by those who had looked after him previously with an apprenticeship opportunity to get into healthcare at a place close to his heart.
As part of the apprenticeship, Ben did a number of modules based on different scenarios and experiences within therapy.
Following a three-and-a-half-year apprenticeship, Ben secured a full-time position within the physiotherapy team as a community physiotherapy assistant in 2019.
He is now based in Sandfield Park School, providing postural care and supporting children and young people with physio programmes, as well as orthotic clinics and hydrotherapy classes.
“The physiotherapy team have been brilliant. I had that personal connection with them already, but I’ve learned a lot from the people here. They gave me the time to study, and work with different teams, work with different age groups and people from different backgrounds, so you learn a lot off the back of that.”
Ben, former physiotherapy apprentice at Alder Hey
Ben said: “I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to anyone looking to get into healthcare. I’m a practical person, so it’s been nice to be able to get the opportunity to learn on the job. While you still get the theory side of it, you also get to see patients and families face to face and learn social skills as well as experience working within a team. It’s the life experiences you gain from it, which I think are really important, especially in our line of work.”
“I think they [the physiotherapy staff at Alder Hey] are all superheroes, so for me to work with them is brilliant. I’m able to pass on my personal knowledge and experience of cerebral palsy and being treated here to the children and families, which can be helpful for them. I may be biased, but I think they [the physiotherapy team], are the best team and to continuing to work with them full time is a real privilege, I’m made up.”
Do you want to become an apprentice at Alder Hey? Find out more.