Occupational Therapy in Neurosciences
Occupational Therapy as a profession is concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation. The primary goal of Occupational Therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational Therapists achieve this outcome by enhancing the individual's ability to participate, by modifying the environment, or by adapting the activity to better support participation. In the Neurosciences Division, Occupational Therapy plays an important role in facilitating early mobilization to perform everyday activities, restoring function, preventing further decline, and coordinating care, including transition and discharge planning. Furthermore, Occupational Therapy’s role focuses on addressing deficits and barriers that limit the patient’s ability to perform activities they need or want to do related to independence in self-care, home management, work-related tasks, and participating in leisure and community pursuits.
Occupational Therapy provides assessment, treatment and advice of the following
- Seating, Posture and Pressure Relief
- Splinting, Casting and Positioning for tone and contracture management (with other members of the multi-disciplinary team)
- Cognition and perception
- Activities of Daily living and Functional Ability
- Home Assessment
- Patient and Carer education
- Pre-Driving skills
- Stress Management
- Physical and Sensory Dysfunction
- Discharge Planning and Facilitation
- Return to work
The Occupational Therapist works closely with members of the multi-disciplinary team to enable the patient to attain the optimum level of function and to facilitate discharge. In addition, the Occupational Therapist liaises with colleagues in other hospitals and in the community to plan discharges and to manage the patient effectively following discharge.
Occupational Therapy receives referral only from the consultants working within the Cork University Hospital.