Occupational Therapy

Our occupational therapists help you to live as independently as possible. We focus on restoring your normal function so you can participate in meaningful activities.

In hospital, this includes:

• activities of daily living and personal care including bathing, toileting or dressing
• instrumental activities of daily living and household duties including cleaning, shopping and making food.

In the community, this includes:

• work or study activities
• recreational or leisure activities.

Our services

Our Occupational Therapy Service is provided across the hospital. We aim to promote your health, wellbeing and functional independence to enable you to be safely discharged from hospital. If you require ongoing therapy, you will be referred to community services. During your stay in hospital, we may provide one or more of the following:

• assessment of your current ability and to help you learn how to best manage your personal and domestic activities of daily living (e.g. self-care and domestic and community living skills – cleaning, shopping etc.)
• home assessment and recommendations for home modifications (e.g. hand rails, ramps)
• upper limb and hand therapy including splint prescription
• scar and oedema (swelling) management
• recommendation and advice on the use of assistive devices and equipment
• cognitive assessment and retraining (looks at how a person learns, understands, remembers and makes decisions)
• visual/perceptual assessment and therapy (how a person makes sense of their environment)
• education in areas such as relaxation, energy conservation, stress management, work simplification, fatigue management and leisure
• community access retraining (such as a visit to a local shop)
• paediatric occupational assessments for children who are referred to a paediatrician.

How to access this service

No external referrals are accepted for this service. You can only access this service when you are staying in hospital or if you have been referred by a hospital clinician. If you are not an inpatient and you need occupational therapy support, please speak with your GP to access private or community occupational therapy services.

What to bring

Clinics