Occupational Therapy

What is an Occupational Therapist?

Occupational Therapists (OTs) work with people who have physical, mental and/or social problems either from birth or as a result of illness, accident or ageing.  Their aim is to enable people to achieve as much as they can for themselves, so that they get the most out of life.  When people cannot do things which are important to them – such as getting dressed, having a shower, going to work or socialising – an OT can help in many ways, based on each person’s individual needs and lifestyle.

What can Occupational Therapists and Social Care Assessors do?

As well as employing OTs, we also have a number of Social Care Assessors (SCAs) in our teams.  SCAs are experienced assessors who are also trained to work with people and to complement the role of the OTs. Through a person centred approach OTs and SCAs aim to enable the service user to regain and retain as high a level of independence as possible, thus enabling he/she to remain in their homes and be part of the community for as long as possible.

This entails:
• Encouraging and enabling the service user to make the best use of their abilities
• Recognising that people are individuals and that each person and their carer(s) have unique strengths and needs
• Retain maximum dignity and respect
• Promoting the service user’s independence within their own homes and locality, recognising that this may involve a degree of acceptable risk
• Consulting fully with the service user and carer
• Promoting changes to the environment to remove many of the barriers that prevent people with disabilities moving around freely and easily

We do this through:
• Assessment of service users and carers with complex needs in relation to home environment
• Minor and major adaptations and equipment provision
• Moving and handling advice and practical support
• Reablement programmes
• Ongoing support for service users with complex conditions
• Prevention of dependence on services through timely intervention
• Promotion of links with Housing colleagues to improve Housing and access to adaptations for people with disabilities
• Working closely with Health to prevent duplication and unnecessary delays re hospital discharge and rehab in the community

How can I get help from an Occupational Therapist or Social Care Assessor?

The Initial Response OT team has Referral and Advice staff who will listen to your issues and try to help you to resolve them. 

This maybe through:
• Advice
• Referral to other agencies such as Age Concern and Home Improvement Agencies
• Referral to Independent Living Centres for assessment and self-purchase of equipment
• If your problem cannot be resolved through any other means, the Referral and Advice Team will refer you to the appropriate Occupational Therapy team who will visit you at home and carry out a full assessment of your needs.