ALL ABOUT ACTIVATE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
My Background
Prior to qualification I worked as an Occupational Therapy assistant for six years in acute hospitals working in acute medical wards, Trauma and orthopaedics, stroke and Elderly rehabilitation and Outpatients departments alongside Occupational Therapists. Whilst working full time I completed my Occupational Therapy degree.
I qualified as an Occupational Therapist In 2008. After qualification I worked in a Community interdisciplinarity team for 5 years. This post included community rehabilitation of all ages and conditions including road traffic accidents, elderly rehabilitation, Neurological conditions including stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Gullian Barre, Motor Neuron Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and many more.
I provided rapid response in acute situations, Pressure care and comprehensive manual handling assessments, provision of specialist equipment and Palliative/end of life care.
During this time, I took on a secondment and spent 1 year as part of an early intervention and discharge team working as part of an in reach multi-disciplinary team including Consultants, nurses, community physiotherapists and social workers. With the aim of preventing unnecessary hospital admissions and integrating acute and community care teams. During my time in the community therapy team, I became a mentor for students completing their degrees and supervised students of all stages of their training.
I have three years’ experience working as a disability analyst for a private Medical company completing comprehensive functional assessments during which time, I quickly became a mentor for new staff and for current colleagues needing ongoing support. In more recent years I have been working as a Locum in several different community settings such as reablement services and social services.
My drive to move into private practice came after the birth of my second child. With the ever-growing red tape and constraints within Public sector working, I felt my Expertise and skills as an Occupational Therapist were not being used to their full potential and I was not able to provide my clients with the holistic and person-centred approach that is central to my Occupation. Becoming an independent practitioner was the only way I could provide the quality service I felt appropriate and have a good work life balance.