What is Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy is a healthcare profession dedicated to help people with physical, psychological and social problems enhance and restore their functional ability. The aim of Occupational Therapy is to allow those who are temporarily or permanently disabled to be as independent as possible in areas such as personal and domestic activities of daily living i.e. washing, dressing, feeding and cooking.
Occupational Therapy will be used to teach special ways of doing everyday things, including the provision of aids and equipment if needed. Occupational Therapists plan courses of treatment, which are individually tailored to the needs of patients and their families or carers.

Service Delivery

The Occupational Therapy Department in Naas General Hospital consists of 1 Occupational Therapy Manager, 5 senior Occupational Therapists, 3 Staff Grade Occupational Therapists, 1 Occupational Therapy Assistant and 0.5 WTE Clerical support. They provide a service to

• Acute General Medicine and Surgical wards including the stroke service
• Stroke Service
• Care of the Elderly Day Hospital
• Frailty Intervention team in the Emergency Department
• Consultant Geriatricians Out Patient clinics
• Rheumatology Out Patient

Acute General Medicine & Surgical Wards Including the Stroke Service

The Occupational Therapists within this service cover all the general medical and surgical wards within the hospital.
The Occupational Therapists assess and treat patients with any clinical conditions that lead to functional difficulties in daily living activities (e.g. self-care, dressing, feeding, toileting), productivity (e.g. employment, domestic tasks) or leisure (e.g. hobbies. sport).
Cognitive or emotional problems affecting function are as important an indicator for involvement from an Occupational Therapist as physical dysfunction.
The Occupational Therapist works closely with the multi-disciplinary team to provide comprehensive rehabilitation and discharge planning for the patient.

Care of the Elderly Day Hospital

The Day Hospital provides a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment and treatment of the older persons living in the community. It helps to prevent admissions to hospital and enables the person to remain at home for as long as possible.
The Occupational Therapist carries out an initial assessment on all new patients attending the day hospital and then determines the treatment plan and intervention for each person as appropriate. With the elderly, the Occupational Therapist is particularly concerned with the patients cognitive and physical functioning and how this impacts on their safety and independence at home.
The Occupational Therapist regularly carries out home assessments to assess how safe the patient is in their own environment and identify what equipment is needed to optimise their independence.

Consultant Geriatricians Out Patient Clinics

The two Consultant Geriatricians in Naas General Hospital have out patient clinics from which the Occupational Therapy Department receives referrals. The majority of referrals received from these clinics are for assessment of the patient’s cognitive ability and concerns the family/carers may have around the patient’s safety to manage in their home environment.

Pulmonary Rehabilition Programme

Within Naas General Hospital there is a pulmonary rehabilitation programme to which the Occupational Therapy Department contributes. The Occupational Therapist provides an educational talk to patients on energy conservation, stress management, relaxation techniques and adaptations required to help facilitate independence at home

Useful Links

Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland www.aoti.ie
British Association of Occupational Therapists www.baot.co.uk
Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland www.alzheimer.ie
Headway Ireland www.headwayireland.ie
Irish Heart Foundation www.irishheart.ie
Health service Information www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health
Housing Grant Application forms www.kildare.ie/countycouncil/printingforms/housing