This is a rather silly question but I’m afraid I have to ask it as I really am not sure about how this works.
I would like to know what exactly the occupational therapist (OT) does for a stroke survivor. I am not sure if we have been provided with the services, but if we have I don’t recognise them.
I would now like to fully understand what they do and how they can help my Mum.
Right now, Mum is struggling with sitting and sleeping in bed and I don’t know why. Is it the equipment that is uncomfortable, or is it her body that is weak or something else?
Mum is not currently “active” with any services other than the GP and the dietician and it seems to me I would need to go to the GP to get them to make an OT referral.
Answers on a postcard, sent to this address please
Thanking you wonderful, wonderful people in advance.
Largely they advise on living with disability - different ways of doing things,
They can supply aids to daily living for the kitchen and bathroom.
They can advise on adaptations to the house from small things like grab rails to ramps and a wet room. Your mother might benefit from a different bed, Ask your gp or Adult social Services for an assessment
Hi there, as above OT mainly provides advice or can prescribe aids/ supports to assist in any issues relating to disabilities. On my first time in hospital I was offered a recliner chair to sleep in due to having a spinal injury and the beds crippling me and causing a flare up of sciatica
This made the world of difference and wasn’t sweaty and sticky like the plastic bed cover was.
Forgive my ignorance on how your mother is able to communicate or if she can articulate but a joint assessment with your local adult social work team may be a start. I would assume they can look at finding more suitable beds/ chairs for your mum. My neighbour had carers and he had several changes adaptions over the years bedding being one of them he was given a new one with massage functions etc to compensate for his health changing and speaking to his carers seems to have made the world of difference.
Best of luck and good health to your mum, I hope you find a resolution that makes her comfortable.
It would seem that Mum is already on the highest level of care e.g. double up carers visiting 4x a day and she was given best equipment to be cared for at home following discharge i.e. hospital bed, hoist, riser recliner and wheelchair. This equipment will likely have been recommended by an OT and thinking back I can remember there was such a person and she did a home visit after which we ended up converting our living room into a bedroom or rather “new home” for Mum.
The problem with this is that Mum is very different today compared to what she was when first discharged and indeed when she wasn’t expected to do anything other than lie in bed all day and all night. The chair was a token gesture to get the family to agree to an “early” discharge.
A review of Mum’s care needs or rather stroke recovery is long overdue. If done properly, she should get targeted help to recover better and be more comfortable with equipment that meets her current needs rather than her needs immediately after the stroke.
I include all of the above purely as information should anyone find themselves in the same situation we have been in.
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I am pleased to report, much to my amazement the GP has put in a priority referral for an OT to do a visit. Hopefully, we will get a better understanding of what Mum’s current condition is classed as and if it will merit some meaningful help rather than the tick box exercises that have been carried out to date.
