Occupational Therapy/Therapy Assistants provide services to acute (medical, surgical, orthopaedics, oncology, neurology, including EDF and APU) and reablement areas.

Occupational Therapists focus on enabling people to do the things that they need to, want to and are expected to do (i.e. occupations) when they leave hospital.  They work in multidisciplinary teams (MDT), assessing a patient's occupational performance and providing interventions for people who have identified difficulties with their everyday activities, tasks and roles.  Occupational Therapists may also identify physical, affective or cognitive issues that may impact on a person's occupational performance/participation and safety in their home and community.

Occupational Therapy in acute and reablement services focus and promotes independence, safety and resumption of occupational participation and engagement.  Occupational therapists may work with people to: 

• Assist with learning new ways of doing things following illness or injury, for example dressing or meal preparation.
• Issue, adapt material or equipment, for example recommend wheelchairs or provide essential special adaptive equipment enabling participation with tasks/occupations
• Make changes to the living or working environment to help them undertake their usual occupations
• Enable independence or assisted performances (doing) and participation (involvement) with tasks/occupations
• Suggest changes to the living or working environment to enable usual occupations to be performed
• Provide education on works simplifications, energy conservation, managing fatigue and head injury education

Contact Details:
Clinical Lead - Occupational Therapy/Therapy Assistants 
Phone: (09) 307 4949 ext. 22817