Innovation through collaboration
The Children’s Trust have been collaborating with The Royal Brompton Hospital and Vivisol Uk to bring into the UK the very first Interpulmonary Percussive Ventilation (IPV) unit to be used within a community setting. Highly Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist, Heather Everest, shared the learnings at an international conference.
Heather Everest, Highly Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist at The Children’s Trust, has been working with Ruth Wakeman, Highly Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist at The Royal Brompton Hospital, and Jo Hobbs Clinical Manager at Vivisol UK, to bring into the UK the very first Interpulmonary Percussive Ventilation (IPV) unit to be used within a community setting.
IPV provides high frequency pulses of air to help open the airways and lungs and mobilise secretions making clearance more effective and, therefore, making it easier to breathe. We have successfully been using this technology to support a young person with complex respiratory needs.
Heather says: “The children and young people we have the privilege to care for at The Children’s Trust have complex health needs, which means we often need look outside of the norms to find therapeutic means of improving respiratory health and quality of life.
“New technology is always challenging, and the success of its use has only been possible due to the incredible dedication of every member of the team. Many months of training, data, meticulous treatments and detailed recordings were required to ensure baselines and build effectiveness and evidence of the impact of treatment.”
Sharing our learnings
Heather recently attended the European Respiratory Society Congress 2025; the largest scientific and clinical organisation in respiratory medicine in Europe. The conference provides opportunities for discussion and innovations, for the development and benefit of lung health worldwide, and is a platform for collaboration between respiratory clinicians, Allied Health Professionals and experts from around the world.
Heather continues: “I was provided with the exciting opportunity of attending this year’s congress thanks to the incredible generosity of the team at Vivisol Uk; a Home Care provider with a focus in respiratory care.
“The experience of attending this conference provided an outstanding opportunity to meet clinicians from all over the UK and Europe and allowed us to share our experiences of working with IPV within The Children’s Trust.
“This opportunity has demonstrated the tremendous interest in enabling IPV to be provided within a community setting and how fortunate we are to have been supported by Vivisol Uk to be the first in the UK to access and provide this treatment at The Children’s Trust.
“Looking to the future we will be looking to share our experience and the evidence of outcomes that we have collated and publish our journey and findings for IPV use within a paediatric community setting."
