A physiotherapy clinic is continuing to grow its services after taking part in a series of business support programmes offered by Newark and Sherwood District Council.

Physiocare Rehab Ltd was established in 2004, becoming a limited company in 2019. Owner Nicola Hunt, who specialises in treating people with neurological and vestibular conditions, used to provide treatment at customer’s homes but had a dream of opening her own clinic.

After taking part in the council’s Business Doctors Support Programme, Nicola gained the confidence to expand her business and opened a clinic in Newark’s Aura Business Centre during summer 2021.

It is the third internationally-acclaimed Complete Concussion Management (CCMI) clinic to open in the UK and the only one in the East Midlands and East of England.

This year, Nicola also applied for the Business Growth and Resilience Programme and completed the health and social care programme with Deyton Bell.

The £300,000 Business Growth and Resilience Programme was funded by the council and provided local businesses with free 12 to 16-week programmes, including tailored workshops, 1-2-1 mentoring sessions, business model and marketing strategy reviews, and coaching with industry experts.

Businesses that completed the programme were eligible to apply for a business development grant, which allowed Nicola to purchase a new foot scan mat to analyse posture, walking and running, complimenting another recent investment, a Senaptec Sensory Station, and a shockwave machine, ensuring Physiocare Rehab Ltd has the latest technology to support clinical excellence when providing rehabilitation and injury management.

This new equipment was showcased at a special event to celebrate the clinic’s first birthday and allowed a new service to be launched — the world’s only complete sensory performance assessment and training solution.

Physiocare Rehab is the first physiotherapy clinic in the UK to offer this state-of-the-art Sensory Station, which assesses visual and motor skills and provides an individual training programme to improve 15 fundamental skills for human movement and performance.
The service can either improve the rehabilitation of people recovering from concussion, brain injury or vestibular disorders or provide an elite training programme for anyone involved in sport, from the elite athlete to the recreational sports player.

Nicola said: “The help and support I have had from Newark and Sherwood District Council has been amazing and truly helped me grow my business. Previously as a sole practitioner I could get by with limited business skills, but this held me back from being able to develop my business further.

“Through the support programmes I gained a deep understanding of finance and cash flow, digital and marketing, sales, systems and IT, all of which was personalised towards me and my specific business.

“This made me confident that I had the skills to market the much-needed clinic, make it a success, and expand the business to have several therapists working there.”

Since opening, Nicola has taken on one new member of staff, one associate and an admin support contract.

The portfolio holder for Economic Development and Visitors at the council, Coun Rhona Holloway, added: “Our business support programmes are developed to give businesses access to free specialist and targeted support to allow them to realise and achieve their growth and development plans.

“I was delighted to attend the first birthday open day of Nicola’s clinic earlier this year and see the new foot scan mat and Sensory Station in operation, while hearing more about how the new service will help customers with their rehabilitation or training programmes.”

The Business Growth and Resilience Programme launched as part of the council’s economic growth strategy and linked business service specialists with local businesses across four key sectors: Retail, Food and Drink; Manufacturing and Construction; Health and Social Care; and Visitor Accommodation.

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