Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists help you get back to participating in meaningful daily activities. They focus on restoring normal function or providing alternative solutions to help you complete:

• activities of daily living and personal care (grooming, showering etc.)
• paediatric developmental activities (making sure your child is meeting milestones)
• instrumental activities of daily living and household duties (budgeting, cooking, shopping etc.)
• work or study
• recreation or leisure activities.

Our services

We aim to promote health, wellbeing and functional independence through inpatient therapy, planning for a safe discharge and follow up outpatient therapy as needed.

We may provide one or more of the following:

• functional assessment of your current ability and support to help you learn how best to manage at home on discharge
• home environment assessment and recommendations to make life easier (e.g. hand rails, ramps, equipment)
• recommendation and advice on the use of assistive devices (e.g. long-handled dressing sticks) and equipment
• community access retraining (such as a visit to a local shop)
• cognitive assessment and retraining (e.g. how a person learns, understands, remembers, makes decisions )
• visual/perceptual assessment and therapy (e.g. how a person makes sense of their environment)
• falls education and advice
• pressure injury management and prevention advice
• upper limb and hand therapy (inpatient and outpatient)
• splint prescription—static and dynamic (inpatient and outpatient)
• scar management (inpatient and outpatient)
• oedema (swelling) management including vascular conditions and compression therapy (inpatient and outpatient)
• education in areas such as relaxation, energy conservation, stress management, work simplification and fatigue management (inpatient and outpatient)
• developmental assessment and interventions (paediatrics)
• toileting support services (paediatrics).

We also offer recreational therapy services to selected inpatients to help pass the time and keep you motivated and engaged in your care, which include:

• individual programmes
• group programmes—e.g. reminiscence, communication, games, current affairs.

How to access this service

A referral is required for all patients. The eligibility criteria differs depending on the service, with some clinics only accepting internal referrals. For clinics accepting external referrals, a GP or medical practitioner will need to send a referral letter to the hospital. Please note that all outpatient services have waiting lists and no drop-in clinics are available. We do not see patients referred under Work Cover, Third Party and/or DVA.

What to bring

Please leave time to find a park before your appointment.

Clinics