Occupational Therapy in a care home

Some community therapy teams go into care homes, to do specific assessments and treatment, however there are few Occupational Therapists working permanently in care homes.

This is something I am going to explore further. In particular focus on how Occupational Therapists can help to improve the life of individuals living in care homes.  It certainly does not mean that individuals have to lose their independence and occupational focus.

I welcome any input/comments about how Occupational Therapists can contribute to the care of individuals in care homes and will be posting again soon.

Gemini OT

 

 

 

I’m reading Mental Health: PTSD via the The OT Magazine app

https://main-otmagazine-2apublishing.content.pugpig.com/2016/11/03/mental-health-ptsd/pugpig_index.html

A great article featuring a fellow student from my uni years!

The unfinished poem

As I walk by the rushing stream

And plan my life with dreams

I stop and watch the world go by

And often wonder why…

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I invite you to finish the unfinished poem,

Love Gemini

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month

That pretty much sums it up. 4.5 years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and unfortunately it drastically changed my life and the lives of those closest to me forever. So please he…

Source: April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month

Shall we dance?

Happy Valentines! Source: Shall we dance?

Occupations are what we do

Occupation

 

 

It’s here…it’s World Occupational Therapy day today! Supporting the day of global recognition for the profession.

We’re looking at the occupations in one day, from the moment we wake, until the moment we go to bed.

What do occupations mean to you? Feel free to share and discuss your ideas in the comments below.

World Mental Health Day 2014- Schizophrenia – Her story so eloquently told

 

International Women’s Day – Warning Signs for Women’s Cancers

Please accept my apologies for being a couple of days late for International Women’s Day . I have been very busy with Uni deadlines this weekend, but wanted to post something to raise awareness for women’s health. This is a great article from ‘Defeat Cancer’ – thank you.

Gem X

Defeat Cancer

 

Wishing all women good health on International Women’s Day!

 To ensure good health, women need to take some precautions. Now let’s examine  important warning signals for women’s cancers.

 Rachel, one of the secretaries of the hospital, came crying to me that both her breasts become extremely painful particularly before menstrual periods.  She was woried that she has cancer as one of her relatives was recently diagnosed.This is quite common and  is due to hormonal changes along with menstrual cycle.  The breasts become heavy,  tender and the pain fully disappears after the periods start.  This is not to be worried about as a sign of malignancy.

A.Breast Cancer

Let me give some practical information on early detection of breast cancer.

Breast Lump :    Classically a painless lump in breast like a buried pea or sometimes larger like a grape, is one of the important signs of breast cancer. It…

View original post 1,172 more words

Occupational Therapy for Older People

 

What is occupational therapy?

•  Occupational therapists (OTs) aim to enable people to make the most of their abilities to perform daily activities and remain as independent as possible

• OTs work with people who have physical and/or mental health problems

• OTs work in a range of health care settings, as well as in the community

 

When would my ageing parent see an occupational therapist?

• If your parent is admitted to hospital, an OT should assess them before they are discharged.
• This assessment will normally include agreeing goals with the patient and their carer to  develop a patient-specific treatment programme, aimed at  achieving maximum functional ability once they leave hospital
• Your parent will receive a report outlining some recommendations, which may include the provision of adaptive, or assistive equipment for use at home
• This assistance might be provided by the hospital, your parent’s local council, or will need to be purchased privately. This will depend on local policies in their area

 

How can occupational therapy help my ageing parent?

Below are some examples of how an OT may work with an older person to help them keep active and perform their daily routines:

• Teach a person with arthritis to protect the joints and conserve energy
• Help a person with limited range of movement to do stretching exercises and use  adaptive equipment, such as a sponge with a long handle
• Train a person with an amputation to put a prosthesis on and off
• Help a person with low vision adapt the environment to avoid glare and increase colour contrast
• Help a person with memory impairment to organize by labeling drawers and cabinets

Taken from http://www.myageingparent.com The website is a great source of information  for Occupational Therapy with older people, also including how OT’s help older people with  pain management and  Dementia 

World Occupational Therapy Day ~ A day in the life of an Occupational Therapist

As today is World Occupational Therapy day…

I would like to share this feature from The Guardian, ‘A day in the life of a specialist Occupational Therapist’ .  I would like to also call upon some OT’s or student OT’s who would be willing to contribute to my blog by promoting OT and talking about a day in their life.  I would like to try and demonstrate the diversity of work carried out in this wonderful field.

I plan to do ‘ a day in the life of a student OT’ myself in the near future and share some of my experience in a role emerging placement working with ex street sleepers.

Now here is the feature from The Guardian about  Fran Hill who travels all over Hampshire for South Coast Fatigue helping clients who are affected by chronic fatigue syndrome ..

Gemini  Xx

Click the pic for the article ”a day in the life of ..a specialist Occupational Therapist”