What does an occupational therapist do in the aged care industry?

Occupational Therapists (OTs) are a key part of Southern Cross Care’s multidisciplinary teams, working across Residential Care and Community Services.

But many people don’t know what the role of an OT is, or why they are so important in aged care services.

Southern Cross Care’s vision is to help older people live Better for life, and to achieve this vision for our clients and residents we need to create age friendly environments.

OTs work with older people to find any challenges they face in everyday life and develop a solution by changing the environment to better suit them.

This could be through an electric lift recliner chair, grab rails in the bathroom and a ramp at the front door for falls prevention or a walker to help them access the community.

OTs may also suggest other equipment like specially designed utensils that are easier to grip for eating or pressure relieving mattresses to prevent bruising.

Occupational therapist Tori Hunter

Tori Hunter is one of the OTs that works in Southern Cross Care’s Community Services.

She spends one day a week  at the Philip Kennedy Centre Health & Wellness Centre working with clients who have conditions affecting the use of their hands, such as osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel and trigger finger.

With Paraffin wax baths, soft tissue massage and tailored exercises, Tori helps to relieve clients’ pain and keep their hands working as well as possible.

The other days are spent visiting Home Care Package clients in their homes to assess their safety at home.

“Sometimes in that assessment we just get an overview of how that person’s managing at home and anything they’re having difficulty with and then we can take that further and address the difficulties,” Tori explained.

OTs like Tori help older people to live in their homes in the community for as long as possible, as safely and easily as possible.

Tori said, “You can have lots of different careers in the same profession and at university we learn a little bit about everything but what I’ve really enjoyed in this role is being able to shrink that scope and really focus in on home safety and fall prevention as well as a little bit of hand therapy. 

“I love working with older adults and just enabling them to remain in their own home as long as they are able to and want to.

 

“It’s really about working with each individual client, assessing their goals and needs and problem solving together to help them achieve their goals and remain safe and independent.”

For more information about occupational therapy and the services that could be available to you, visit our Health & Wellness Allied Health page.