New Patient Information
About me – Penelope Sawell
I am an osteopath registered with the General Osteopathic Council. I gained my degree following a four year course at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1997. I also gained a Masters in Paediatric Osteopathy in 2007 following a two year course at the Osteopathic Centre for Children in Clerkenwell. In addition to treating patients, I write about osteopathy for my own blog, osteofm.com, and also write for the osteopathy magazines and osteopathy college website.
Location
3 Titian Rd, Hove, BN3 5QR
I currently work from my home. This enables me to charge considerably less for treatments than I would have to if I worked from a clinic, but it does mean that it is not a formal clinical environment. The treatment you will receive will, however, be exactly the same professional treatment that I would give wherever I was working.
Titian Road is between Portland Road and New Church Road in West Hove. If you are coming from Brighton along Portland Road towards in the direction of Portslade, you would turn left at the Stoneham pub, just past the zebra crossing, and 3 Titian Rd is towards the end of the road on the left.
Parking
Local on-street parking is free, with the exception of two time periods: 10am–11am and 7pm–8pm. You can usually find a space close to the house in Titian Rd. If not, there is always a space in one of the surrounding streets. Lawrence Road, Reynolds Road or Raphael Road have the same parking policy.
Buses
1 and 6 stop on New Church Rd (Richardson Rd stop)
2, 46 and 49 stop on Portland Rd (Scott Rd stop)
Both bus stops are just a few minutes away from the house.
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Prices
First Consultation 60 minutes – £40
Treatments 45 minutes – £40
You are welcome to pay by cheque, cash or card. I add a small charge (60p) for card payments.
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Undressing/chaperones
You are welcome to bring someone to accompany you during the treatment, however I cannot provide chaperones.
It can be helpful to examine and treat you in underwear at times. If you prefer, I can examine you in shorts or leggings and a sleeveless top, so feel free to bring those to change into.
I have plenty of blankets to keep exposed areas covered during treatment. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable so don’t be shy to speak up if you don’t.
What will happen?
Our first consultation will last an hour. I will take a full medical history and will discuss your current complaint in detail. It is helpful if you bring any medical reports, doctors’ letters or details of medication. This is followed by a physical examination which might include taking blood pressure, appropriate orthopaedic or neurological testing, and a general assessment of your posture, mobility and muscle tone. Then I will give you my analysis of your condition and the proposed plan of treatment will be explained. A treatment will then be included in the first consultation.
What is the treatment like?
I use lots of different massage techniques, very gentle light touch techniques (which you might know as cranial osteopathy) and advice. I very rarely click joints these days, but can advise you on very good manipulative osteopaths if that is the type of treatment you prefer.
How many treatments will I need?
That is impossible to say as it varies from individual to individual and according to what the condition is, however I can give usually you an idea at the end of the first consultation. I don’t block book but take one treatment at a time. I usually like you to return for at least one follow up visit, so that I can follow up what has happened after the first, however booking future treatments is always a shared decision.
osteofm 