The Adult Community Occupational Therapy team provides assessment; treatment and rehabilitation for adult patients in the Borough of Bury living with a physical disability and/or long term condition. The goal of Community Occupational Therapy is to complete assessment of function and risk and to develop a treatment plan with the aim of maximising functional independence at home, reducing risk and promoting quality of life for patients and their families/carers.
Our team consists of specialities that include Palliative Care, Rheumatology and Community rehabilitation. A weekly outpatient Hand Therapy clinic is held at Radcliffe Primary Care Centre, the aim of this clinic is to assess and maximise hand function through exercise, principles of joint protection and splinting.
The Community OT service provides assessment and support to those patients in short term respite care in order to facilitate a safe and timely discharge home.
- Provision of assessment and rehabilitation in a community setting.
- Provision of a short rehabilitation programme following a recent acute episode/ hospital discharge/ exacerbation of a long term condition.
- Assessment and provision of equipment / aids to daily living in order to maximise independence and facilitate rehabilitation at home.
- Standardised Assessment of cognitive/perceptual function.
- Cognitive rehabilitation.
- Fatigue Management.
- Anxiety Management.
- Specialist assessment and rehabilitation for patients requiring Palliative Care.
- Specialist assessment and treatment of hand function.
- Assessment and rehabilitation for patients wishing to return home from short term Respite Care.
- Falls prevention assessment and advice for those patients who are at risk of falls but do not meet the Falls Prevention Service criteria.
On receipt of referral the OT service will complete triage and prioritise the referral need accordingly. You may receive a telephone call at this point to clarify details on the referral. The referral is added to the waiting list and sent to The Booking Management Centre who will send out an appointment letter.
The Occupational Therapist will visit you at home to complete a thorough assessment of your abilities and to identify goals for treatment and rehabilitation with you. The focus of assessment will be function and activities of daily living including Personal Care, domestic ADL, leisure and work activities.
The service aims to deliver up to 6 sessions with you at home; your goals will be reviewed as treatment progresses.
Currently all patients referred to The Hand clinic will be contacted by telephone for initial assessment and to establish whether an assessment at home or in Hand clinic ( at Radcliffe Primary Care Centre) is most appropriate.
Referrals to the Adult Community Occupational Therapy service are accepted from Consultants, GPs and all members of the Multi-Disciplinary team. Self-referrals are accepted where appropriate.
Referrals are accepted for patients Age 16+ who are registered with a Bury GP.
A rehabilitation need should be identified at the point of referral.
A referral form should be completed and sent by post, fax or e-mail (see contact details).
The Community OT team work closely with our colleagues in Community Physiotherapy, Community Neuro-rehabilitation, The Falls and Fracture liaison Service, Integrated Neighbourhood Teams and The specialist Palliative Care Team. We work in conjunction with Respite facilities across Bury and social workers to coordinate discharge home from Respite care.
Community Occupational Therapists work closely with and may liaise/signpost to OT teams within Disability services, Rapid Response and IMC at home if we feel that your need would be best met by an alternative service. We would discuss this with you or your referrer as part of the triage process.