Occupational Therapy

Useful Links

The Occupational Therapy team have produced a series of short videos that will be of use to patients with Arthritis. The first video focusses on osteoarthritis, the team discuss the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis and ways in which you can help yourself to manage these symptoms. This video is intended to be used as part of a patients OT treatment. 

Please do not submit questions via the comment section as it is not monitored

Lifestyle Management for Inflammatory Arthritis
The OT team discuss the signs and symptoms of Inflammatory Arthritis and ways you can help to manage the symptoms. The video is intended to be used as part of a patients OT treatment. You can watch the video by clicking on the image below.

Please do not submit questions via the comment section as it is not monitored  

Living with Arthritis – protecting
In this video from the Occupational Therapy (OT) department at TUH, we talk to you about how to protect your joints and pace yourself when you have arthritis. This should be viewed after our first video explaining your type of arthritis – osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis. It is intended to be used as part of your OT treatment, and you can discuss any queries you may have with your OT. Clink on the image below to view the video. 

Please do not submit questions via the comment section as it is not monitored

Video 4 Hip Education following a full or partial hip replacement 
In this video from the Occupational Therapy (OT) Department at TUH, the team advise on how a patient can manage their daily living activities after hip surgery (total or partial hip replacement). It is intended to be used as part of your OT treatment and you can discuss any queries you may have with your OT. You can watch the video by clicking on the image below. 

Please do not submit questions via the comment section as it is not monitored

Video 5 - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

In this video, Paula Minchin a Senior Occupational Therapist & Accredited Hand Therapist will talk to you about carpal tunnel syndrome, how it might affect you, and what treatment we provide in Occupational Therapy

Please do not submit questions via the comment section as it is not monitored

Description of Department/Service

Occupational therapy is a client-centred health profession 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 working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement. (WFOT 2012)

Mission Statement
We provide a high quality and equitable service for the patients of Tallaght University Hospital, enabling them to achieve their optimum level of independence in their everyday activities. We support staff by providing an environment which fosters an ethos of lifelong learning and best practice. 

Our service reflects the values of TUH which are:

• Respect for patient autonomy 
• Respect for each other 
• Caring 
• Openness
• Partnership & Teamwork
• Fairness & Equality

Our Service
Our team of 18.5 Occupational therapists provide services to patients who are under the care of a consultant at TUH. We see inpatients and outpatients and patients who are transferred to St. Luke’s Hospital.

Our Inpatient specialties include:

• General Medicine & Surgery
• Age related health care
• Neurology 
• Orthopaedics
• Stroke 
• Discharge Planning

Our outpatient specialties include:

• Early supported discharge for Stroke
• Pain management
• Orthopaedics
• Emergency department (hand therapy & discharge facilitation)
• Day Hospital
• Rheumatology

What to expect when you see an Occupational Therapist
The Occupational Therapist will complete an assessment and plan treatment which is individualised to your particular needs. They work closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team.

Assessment
An assessment of physical, sensory, cognitive, perceptual and psychosocial factors which may be impacting on a person’s ability to function in their daily activities. The therapist may discuss the home environment, roles at home and at work or your ability to manage certain activities with you.

Treatment
Treatment of functional difficulties identified in the assessment could include:

• Practice of specific activities of daily living e.g. washing/dressing/kitchen tasks
• Specific therapy e.g. stretching and exercises, mirror therapy, scar management
• Splinting of the upper limb
• Education on self-management of conditions e.g. falls prevention, energy management, pain management
• Family and carer education on activities of daily living and managing your condition
• Provision of equipment to facilitate discharge home, increase or modify independence and safety and to promote rehabilitation
• Referral to Community Occupational Therapy services.