Occupational Therapy services

The Acute team cover a wide range of inpatient clinical specialties as well as other specialist services.

In trauma and orthopaedics, the team works with babies, children and young people who have come in to hospital for planned orthopaedic surgery or following an accident. The team assess their ability to carry out everyday tasks which they need to manage at home and advise them on different ways to complete these tasks safely and as independently as possible.

Working with neurology services, the team support and educate patients and families as any traumatic or acquired brain injury can have a number of different effects on a child. The team plans for safe and timely discharge from hospital which may mean looking at specialist equipment, providing advice and support and referring on to community services for continuity of care.

The team also support individuals with long term ventilation and complex care. In addition to the inpatient areas, the service covers the Clinical Epilepsy Surgical Service, Cerebral Palsy-Upper Limb clinic, and Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy surgery.

Occupational Therapists provide care on the Burns Unit to help maintain or return children and young people to age appropriate occupational activities such as dressing, writing and taking part in leisure activities. Our main areas of input are:

Scar management - through use of creams, pressure garments, massage and stretches

Splinting/positioning - thus reduces the possibility of contractures (shortenings of the muscle joints) reducing the range of movement. Splints may also be used after reconstructive surgery

Daily activities - therapy sessions concentrating on age appropriate daily living skills and hand/upper limb function. Equipment provision if required, home/school visits, support through outpatient sessions, involvement in Enzo’s Friends - the burns support group and cosmetic camouflage appointments

The burns and plastics team also offer occupational therapy to children with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), which is a rare skin condition that can have a major impact on a child’s ability to engage in daily activities. Occupational therapists carry out hand assessments, splinting and/or reviews in the EB multi-disciplinary team clinic. They are also available by phone or email to provide advice to parents, other healthcare professional or schools.

The Occupational Therapy team provide input into oncology, haematology and some stem cell transplant patients. We follow up patients with brain tumours post surgery through to outpatients and accept referrals throughout their treatment journey. We provide support to community services and facilitate palliative care through effective discharge planning. Our intervention includes assessment of physical and developmental skills, reintegration into the community, fatigue and pain management and adaptive approaches.

Our hand and upper limb service provides assessment and intervention for children who have had a traumatic hand injury, have a congenital hand difference or an upper limb neurological impairment. Input is predominantly outpatient based. Our focus is on maximising independence and we have specialist skills in improving and maintaining hand function through the use of standardised assessments, splinting, exercises, activity analysis and modification. We provide peer support to our patients and families with congenital hand differences by running biannual coffee morning groups and an annual residential break for teenagers.

In rheumatology, the Occupational Therapy team supports children and young people with juvenile chronic arthritis, non-inflammatory conditions and those living with chronic pain.

We focus on improving a patient's ability to manage everyday activities, become self-reliant and promote self-esteem. We provide regular monitoring when unwell which can involve assessment, advice and close work with other agencies. We provide care in consultant clinics, outpatient appointments, community visits and through group work. We also provide exercises and splints if required.

Occupational Therapists in Forward Thinking Birmingham work across the city. We mainly work from health clinics but also see children and young people at school and in their homes. The team provides both assessment and intervention for children, young people and young adults, aged 0-25, who experience a range of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and psychosis, and often with other issues such as an autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

We use therapeutic activity to support people to develop skills, routines and insights that allow them to live more independently and be more active in their school, family and social life. We offer individual assessments for sensory processing patterns, interventions to develop independent living skills and a healthy balance of daily activity.

Based at the Parkview Clinic in Moseley, the Occupational Therapy team works with children and young people with acute mental health issues to:

• Assess independent living skills
• Increase self awareness of risk and better management of personal safety
• Review interests, identity and role within the family, education and with friends
• Assess sensory processing (response to noise, sound, touch)
• Assess the impact of mental health on self-care, motivation and participation in education and leisure activities

We provide group and individual sessions, and activity also takes place within the local community.

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a metabolic bone disorder. Occupational Therapy provides support throughout childhood and focuses on enabling children and young people to live a full life with normal experiences. We recommend safe ways of doing activities and useful equipment and provide advice to families, nurseries and schools. We enable young people with this condition to become confident and independent as they transition through to adult services.

As one of only four hospitals providing a national service to children with osteogenesis imperfecta we provide specialist advice to local services on how best to support and manage the condition.