Our Team

Adam Ferry Director and Occupational Therapist

Graduating in 2007 with an Occupational Therapy BSc, Adam worked in the NHS until he left in 2018 to work full-time in the private sector as a director of The OT Service, although there was a two – year period when these roles overlapped.

Whist in the NHS Adam worked in a range of clinical areas but predominantly emergency care, then neurological rehabilitation as a senior therapist.  In the final 3 years of NHS employment Adam managed acute and rehabilitation services across four sites.

Over recent years Adam has continued to develop a clinical reputation within neurological rehabilitation and falls, holding a complex caseload supporting case managers and their clients.  However, it is within commercial consultancy that Adam has developed his national and international profile, being responsible for development of The OT Show CPD programme as well as expert consultancy for high profile companies such asAKW, Closomat, Invacare, Mangar International andAbacus Healthcare.

Adam is a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists and the College of Occupational Therapists Specialist sections – Independent Practice and Older People as well as being registered with the Health Care Professionals Council (OT52788)

Samantha Shann Director and Occupational Therapist

Samantha is a highly respected occupational therapist with an outstanding international profile. She is the President of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), a Board Member of the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) and a member of the World Health Organisation’s Steering Committee for the World Rehabilitation Alliance. She has an excellent working knowledge of occupational therapy and rehabilitation needs globally.

Samantha graduated as an occupational therapist in 1992 and gained her master’s in Health and Social Care in 2011. She also holds post-graduate teaching and leadership qualifications and has worked internationally in various practice and education settings.

Samantha’s clinical speciality centres on mental health and older people, while her wider role within The Occupational Therapy Service involves supervision, mentoring, and consultancy to companies focusing on training and occupational therapy expertise.

Samantha is a sought-after speaker at international health and rehabilitation events and is a regular guest lecturer at various national and international universities. She has contributed to many high-level international and regional statements and working documents on disability, health, rehabilitation, and occupational therapy.

Samantha is passionate about occupational therapy and the difference it can make to individuals, families, and communities’ lives. She has received many awards from occupational therapy associations worldwide, recognising her willingness to share her knowledge and expertise. In 2022, Samantha was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) in the UK for her outstanding work in the field of occupational therapy.

Lucy Leonard Director and Occupational Therapist

Lucy has 25 year’s post graduate experience in occupational therapy, including over 20 years in statutory services working as a clinical specialist and leading multidisciplinary teams, consequently, she has a broad and thorough understanding of health and social care systems across the UK. Lucy has worked for 10 years in the private sector carrying an eclectic caseload of people with a range of neurological, orthopaedic and polytrauma diagnoses, finding creative ways of meeting an individual’s goals and providing occupation-focused rehabilitation. Lucy is an accomplished public speaker, delivering webinars, keynote speeches and has appeared on BBC Breakfast and Radio 4.  

With a passion for the profession and an MSc in Advanced Occupational Therapy, Lucy became clinical director of The OT Service in 2022.  She now uses her experience to support our UK-wide network of associate occupational therapists, providing clinical guidance to the clinical co-ordination team and leading on our relationships with case managers. 

In addition, Lucy oversees several occupational therapy projects, including the interim management of statutory occupational therapy services, working in partnership with local authorities around proportionate care, waiting list reduction and optimising pathways and processes.

Brian Trotter Operations Manager

Brian has a wide variety of experiences to draw on in his role as Operations Manager. He graduated in 1997 from The University of Brighton with a Ba (Hons) in Physical and Business Education. He spent some time in London fitness instructing and sports coaching before re-locating to the North East, setting up his own business with the help of the Prince’s Trust. 

As personal and professional circumstances changed Brian moved into a 17 year healthcare career, firstly with the ambulance service and latterly in an NHS Acute Occupational Therapy service as a Technical Instructor.

In 2019 he accepted the role of Practice Manager with The OT Service and is now our full-time Operations Manager bringing a committed and creative approach to our service.

Jill Straker Assistant Clinical Co-ordinator and Occupational Therapist

Jill began working for The OT Service in 2020 following over 30 years of work in statutory services. She brings a wealth of experience from a variety of administrative and secretarial roles, many in the NHS and thus has a huge understanding of the healthcare sector and the importance of effective administration.

Jill has helped The OT Service go from strength to strength and recently became our first assistant clinical co-ordinator supporting our 3 clinical co-ordinators in managing the caseload.

Lisa Herron Clinical Co-ordinator and Occupational Therapist

Lisa is an occupational therapist of 12 years, retraining as a mature student following a career in banking. She was The OT Service’s first clinical co-ordinator and now shares the responsibility for managing our caseload and co-ordinating associates with Shirleyanne and Sarah. Her clinical knowledge and experience of the private sector is ideally suited to her role and we know her supportive approach to our associate therapists is greatly appreciated.

Lisa’s clinical skills are broad having worked in a number of NHS and statutory roles and more recently in the private sector. As with all our clinical co-ordinators she is always at the end of the phone for case managers, private referrers and our various other clients and commissioners.

Kimberley Robinson Administrator

Kimberley joined us in 2023 as an administrator and quickly became an invaluable member of the team bringing over 20 years of paid and voluntary work in the healthcare sector. Her previous experiences include GP surgery, statutory services and private sector administration.

Kimberley has a breadth of knowledge regarding systems of work and uses this effectively during her dealings with local authority contracts.

Along with Joanna she is first port of call for referrals, associate queries and general enquiries.

Shirleyanne Kippax Clinical Co-ordinator and Occupational Therapist

As with all our clinical co-ordinators Shirleyanne is a qualified occupational therapist graduating from Northumbria University in 2014 with a 1st class honours degree.

Shirleyanne has been a valuable associate of The OT Service for a number of years, recently taking on the employed position of clinical co-ordinator.

Her clinical experiences have been primarily in care of the elderly work, managing complex caseloads in both acute and rehabilitation settings. This has involved supporting people with a range of complex and long-term healthcare needs such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, along with trauma and elective orthopaedics, dementia and palliative care.

Joanna Ridley Administrator

Joanna began working for The Occupational Therapy Service in 2024 following 24 years in GP surgery administration. Not only does Joanna have a wonderful talent for front of house work, she is hugely experienced in healthcare administrative processes and business systems of work.

Along with Kimberley, Joanna is your first port of call for referrals, associate queries and general enquiries.

Sarah Bethell Clinical Co-ordinator and Occupational Therapist

Joining Lisa and Shirleyanne, Sarah is an occupational therapist of 14 years and our third clinical co-ordinator. Sarah is a highly experienced OT specialising in rehabilitation and will be invaluable in assisting case managers and associate therapists with clients requiring sessional work.  This could simply be in the context of  daily living, vocational goals or social integration, to name but a few . At The OT Service we take our values seriously and Sarah is the epitome of client-centredness, always putting the person first.  After an extensive period working in palliative care Sarah focuses on providing a truly tailored approach to therapy which encompasses all aspects of a client’s life. She has wonderful communication skills and is another great asset to our team.

Claire Lowther Clinical Lead

Claire qualified as an occupational therapist in 2004 and before joining The Occupational Therapy Service in 2023, spent most of her career working in adult and children’s social care. She has successfully worked in leadership roles in several local authorities in the north of England.  Claire has been an associate of The Occupational Therapy Service for a number of years and therefore has been instilling the values of the company for some time.

As Clinical Lead, Claire is responsible for clinical excellence, quality assurance and the day-to-day management of our clinical team. All output from The Occupational Therapy Service has a consistent ‘stamp of authority’ from Claire, ensuring the utmost standards. Alongside her occupational therapy qualifications, Claire is ADOS approved which is an internationally recognised standard for assessing autism. Claire uses her knowledge in this field to further raise standards of intervention for  children, young people and adults. Through The Occupational Therapy Service, Claire continues to provide an interim management role for a local authority occupational therapy team, support a selective client caseload and work closely with Clinical Director, Lucy Leonard.