Back to farm or manual work
An assessment of the physical demands of farm, estate or trade work after injury, with a graded plan and ideas for equipment.
Return to workOccupational therapy in Hexham and the Tyne Valley
Home, school and farm visits around Hexham, Corbridge, Haydon Bridge and Allendale, planned from Newcastle with rural travel in mind, plus video sessions for reviews so therapy stays practical across the valley.
- In-person first assessments
- Video follow-up where suitable
- Rural visits grouped when practical
- Travel included in your quote
Request a quote
Tell us a little about what you need and we will be in touch to discuss the next steps.
In brief
Occupational therapy for Tyne Valley homes, schools and farms
Private Occupational Therapy provides home assessments and adaptations, rehabilitation after illness or a hospital stay, return to work support, EHCP evidence for children and care needs reports for people living in and around Hexham.
An occupational therapist travels out from Newcastle upon Tyne along the valley for appointments in homes, schools, farms and workplaces, and video covers some follow-up. Each piece of work moves from an initial conversation to an assessment, a written report with recommendations and, if useful, a course of therapy, organised around rural travel as the next section explains.
What to expect
- A talk about your goals before booking
- A written quote before any visit is arranged
- A report in plain language
- Recommendations that suit the property
- Progress checked against your goals
- Liaison with NHS teams or schools with consent
Rural visits
How occupational therapy works across a rural area
Hexham is a market town on the south bank of the Tyne, and many households around it live in villages, hamlets and farms some way from a main road. Private Occupational Therapy plans these visits differently from a city appointment, so more of the time goes on you and less on driving.
First contact
Email or use the form with your village or postcode area, the main difficulty and any days that suit. Travel is worked out at this stage.
Face-to-face assessment
The first assessment normally happens in person, because the therapist needs to see the stairs, bathroom, yard or classroom for themselves.
Video follow-up
Reviews, coaching for parents or carers and checks on new equipment can often take place online, which saves long round trips.
Report and next steps
A written report sets out recommendations, and further home sessions are booked alongside other visits in the valley where that is practical.
Farmhouses and cottages
Adapting stone cottages, farmhouses and village homes
Housing around Hexham is often older and solidly built: stone cottages with steep stairs, farmhouses with flagged floors and outbuildings, and homes on sloping plots with steps up to the door.
A home assessment looks at how the person copes inside and outside, including the walk to the car, the yard and the garden, which matter far more in the countryside. Recommendations allow for thick walls, uneven floors and limited room for ramps. Where substantial works are needed, the report can support a Disabled Facilities Grant application to Northumberland County Council, whose rules and procedures are worth confirming directly with the council before anything is ordered.
Often checked on a rural visit
- Steps and slopes to the door
- Uneven yards and paths
- Steep cottage stairs
- Bathrooms on upper floors
- Getting in and out of vehicles
- Lighting, heating and winter access
Coming home from Hexham General Hospital
Hexham General Hospital on Corbridge Road is run by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and serves much of the valley. After a stay there, or at a larger hospital further east, returning to a rural property can feel daunting when the nearest shop or neighbour is some distance away and help cannot simply pop round.
A visit can check that the person can manage safely from day to day, recommend equipment and suggest routines that reduce risk during long stretches alone. For recovery after a stroke or head injury, neurological rehabilitation can combine home sessions with video practice in between. This private support works alongside NHS teams and does not take the place of any therapy they provide.
Working lives
Support for farmers, rural businesses and their families
Work and home often overlap in the countryside around Hexham, so occupational therapy can look at both together.
Children at village schools
Support at home and in small rural schools, including occupational therapy evidence for an EHCP request where it is needed.
EHCP assessmentsSessions by video
Follow-up, parent coaching and progress reviews online, with in-person visits kept for the tasks that need them.
Reports for solicitors and case managers in Tynedale
When someone from the Hexham area is hurt in a road collision, a farm accident or through clinical negligence, the solicitor or case manager handling the claim often needs an independent view of their care and equipment needs. A care needs report from Private Occupational Therapy rests on an assessment in the person's own home, so it reflects the reality of rural life: the distance to services, the practical demands of the property and any extra help that may be needed through the winter.
Reports describe current and likely future needs, together with the equipment, adaptations and support that would address them, written clearly for a legal reader. Instructions and practical arrangements, including travel to more remote addresses, are agreed before the assessment is booked. More detail on instructing is on the for professionals page.
When does video work instead of a visit?
Video suits conversations, coaching and reviewing progress against goals set at the first assessment. Parents can be shown activities to practise with a child, and adults can talk through how a new routine or piece of equipment is going. It is less suitable for anything that needs hands-on assessment, measuring or watching someone move around their home, so those parts stay in person. All a video appointment needs is a phone, tablet or laptop with a camera, and a relative who lives elsewhere can join the call if that helps.
For many families in the Tyne Valley a mix of the two works well, and the balance is agreed with you rather than decided in advance. If you are unsure which would suit, send a few details and ask before booking anything.
Towns and villages covered near Hexham
Visits cover Hexham itself and the surrounding valley, including Corbridge, Acomb, Haydon Bridge, Allendale, Wylam and Prudhoe, along with Riding Mill, Stocksfield and the farms in between. More remote addresses towards Haltwhistle or up the North Tyne can be arranged by agreement, with travel discussed openly at the start and reflected in the quote. Private Occupational Therapy is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, further east Gateshead is also covered, and the areas served page lists everywhere else.
- Corbridge
- Acomb
- Haydon Bridge
- Allendale
- Wylam
- Prudhoe
- Riding Mill
Arrange occupational therapy out in the valley
Let us know where you live, who needs support and what is proving difficult, and the reply will cover how the first visit and any video sessions would run, with a quote that includes travel to Hexham or your village.