Occupational Therapy Services
Staff work across a wide range of service and program areas across Footscray Hospital, Sunshine Hospital, Williamstown Hospital and Hazeldean. These areas include:
- Emergency Department
- Acute
- Plastics/Hand therapy
- Paediatrics
- Inpatient Rehabilitation
- Aged Care/GEM
- Transition Care Program (bed and community based programs)
- Community Based Rehabilitation
- Palliative Care
- Orthopaedics pre-admission clinics
- Aged Care Assessment Service
- Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation
Acute
Occupational Therapists, working within acute, help patients to participate in their chosen daily activities. We strive to understand and consider a person's physical, cognitive, social and environmental factors that impact their health and wellbeing.
We help to optimise people's ability to complete tasks in their everyday lives. Acute Occupational Therapists work with other health professionals in supporting a safe and timely discharge from hospital. Any person can access an Occupational Therapist during their hospital admission, just ask your treating team to refer.
Sub-Acute
Occupational Therapists in the subacute setting work with patients who require more time in hospital to recover from injury or illness. Occupational Therapists provide assessment and intervention to assist patients to participate in occupations that are important to them and that will facilitate transition from hospital to the community.
Therapy can include retraining to enable greater independence in everyday tasks, environmental modifications, provision of adaptive aids or equipment and patient education.
Community Based Rehabilitation
Occupational Therapy within outpatients provides therapy to help people living at home with illness or injury who are having difficulty with completion of desired occupations (this can be any task that is important to you). Therapy focuses on rehabilitation to help people regain skills (e.g. after a stroke or fall) or to find new strategies to enable them to participate.
Therapy focuses on goals set with the client: focussing on occupations that are important to have a full life and fulfil important roles (e.g. parent, spouse, worker, student).
Paediatrics
Occupational Therapy for children provides assessment and intervention to assist children and their families to overcome developmental and learning challenges to participate fully in their daily lives. This includes skills for self care at home, learning at school or kinder and play and social interactions.
Occupational Therapy Driving Assessment
Occupational Therapists at Western Health, offer a specialised driver assessment and rehabilitation program for Western Health patients referred to the program and those who live within a fixed catchment area.
The service is conducted by trained clinicians based at Sunshine Hospital and involves a comprehensive assessment to determine how a person's medical condition impacts on their ability to drive safely. Following assessment, the occupational therapists make recommendations to Vic Roads regarding; a person's capacity to drive and whether vehicle modifications or driving lessons are required to facilitate safe return to driving.
For detailed information about the Occupational Therapy Driver Assessment and Rehabilitation Program including; what is involved, referral information and costs please refer to the Occupational Therapy Driver Assessment Information form
Occupational Therapy Driver Assessment Information.doc
Referral Process
To make a referral to the Occupational Therapy Assessment Program, please complete the VicRoads Medical Report, located here https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/licences/health-and-driving/medical-forms-and-fact-sheets and email this report to [email protected].
Contacting the Driver Assessment and Rehabilitation Program
For further information about the driving program please contact the program on a Tuesday or Thursday on 8345 1315 or via the email address above.
Plastics / Hand Therapy Service
Occupational Therapy within the hand therapy service provides rehabilitation to those with varying acute hand injuries. Our ultimate goal is to optimise hand function to enable participation in everyday occupations through a variety of treatment modalities.
We only accept internal referrals and not directly from GP's or community services. Please email a referral to the Referral Management Centre [email protected] or fax to (03) 8345 6856 to be assessed initially by a medical team.
Advice, Coordination and Expertise (ACE) Team/Allied Health Outreach:
Occupational Therapist's work within a transdisiciplinary capacity in the Advice, Coordination and Expertise (ACE) team to complete assessments and interventions, with the aim of reducing hospital admissions and re-presentations to the Emergency Department (ED).
They also compete Allied Health Outreach Occupational Therapy visits to provide short-term, goal focused, occupation based home assessments and interventions to optimize patients' safety in their own home and reduce re-presentation risk.
ACAS (Aged Care Assessment Service)
Occupational Therapists (OTs), within the Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS), are part of My Aged Care. OTs in this role complete comprehensive assessments of clients within their home. ACAS OTs determine the impact of illness and disease on client's daily occupations, ability to access services and manage at home and identify barriers to client's health and wellbeing and carer arrangements.
Referrals and recommendations are made to facilitate appropriate service referrals and eligibility for home care packages and residential respite care to optimise or assist with engagement in daily routines, maintain a client at home or plan for the future.
