Our Services

A team of skilled therapists work within multi disciplinary teams to promote and facilitate participation in all aspects of life.

Inpatient:

Inpatient therapists cover the following wards:

Medical
Surgical
Orthopaedics
Older People’s Health and Rehabilitation
Intensive Care Unit
Emergency Department
Paediatrics
Mental Health

Our focus is on providing assessment and rehabilitation to enable a safe discharge back into the community.

Community:

Our community service is aimed at supporting people to function safely within their home environments. Community Occupational Therapists complete assessments in a person’s own home to enable and facilitate independent function.

Wheelchair Services:

We have specialised wheelchair/seating assessors. They assess and prescribe wheelchairs and seating designed to meet individual needs in order to enable occupation through independent mobility.

We offer an on site workshop for wheelchair modifications and maintenance.

Outpatient:

The Outpatient Occupational Therapy service is aimed at people who are medically stable and are able to attend appointments at Base or Hawera Hospital. The Occupational Therapist will work with the client and their family/whanau to either assess and identify or continue rehabilitation programems.For example; strategies for memory loss, learning how to use an arm again after a stroke, managing fatigue and graded returns to work. Common conditions seen are stroke, neurological/neurosurgical conditions and chronic fatigue. Some people are adjusting to new disability and some have long standing disabilities.

Intermediate Care Clinic

Intermediate Care is an outpatient service offered at Base Hospital and accepts referrals for people who require ongoing rehabilitation. Each patient must require intervention from two or allied health disciplines eg Physio, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy.

ICATT Unit

Enhanced ICATT is targeted to those people who would otherwise face an extended length of stay in acute inpatient services who have rehabilitation potential.The client is medically stable but is not yet safe to return home. The aim is to facilitate transition from the hospital to home by maximising their independence. This service is provided in a Residential Care Facility

Child & Adolescents Community Centre CACC:

CACC Occupational Therapy Therapists see children in the 3 to 16 year age group. We see children with a known disability or at risk of developing a disability which will last longer than 6 months. We provide therapy to children at home, school and pre schools as well as therapy sessions and group work at CACC. The need for housing modifications and equipment are also assessed and provided where needed. We are part of initial multi disciplinary assessments with the Physical therapy team (PT, SLT) as well as part of the ASD assessments involving Paediatrician and Speech Language Therapist.

Mental Health Service:

Acute Mental Health
An Occupational Therapist works on the acute inpatient ward, Te Puna Waiora. They provide individual and group interventions for people with severe mental illness as they recover from an acute episode. The focus is on the assessment and rehabilitation of occupational performance issues within activities of daily living. The Occupational Therapist works as part of a multi disciplinary team. Interventions include: - functional assessments, psychoeducation groups, task based groups, supporting the Activity Facilitator with their groups and individual goal setting and implementation.

Adult Community Mental Health:
Occupational Therapists in the community teams provide generic key working and Occupational Therapy specific interventions. These services are provided to adults with severe mental illness across the Taranaki region. Key working involves coordinating the delivery of services to the consumer and providing individual treatment as required. Occupational Therapy specific work includes assessment of occupational performance areas and facilitating clients into meaningful engagement in activities of daily living. Group work is also offered and the Occupational Therapist is seen as providing more specialist intervention for anxiety management with the focus on a person being able to reengage with life tasks. These positions also sit within a multi disciplinary team.

Mental Health Service for Older People
Occupational Therapists in the MHSOP team provide a mixture of Key Working and Occupational Therapy specific intervention. The service provides for people over 65 with a serious mental health diagnoses and people under 65 with a diagnosis of early onset dementia. A large portion of the caseload is working with people who are experiencing various types of dementia. Interventions include: -1/ reviewing a client’s function/ occupational performance and identifying any safety concerns in their place of residence. Making recommendations to support or decrease identified issues while continuing to encourage the client to engage in meaningful activity 2/Providing guidance on behavioural and environmental strategies to assist with behaviours of dementia. This includes giving advice and education to caregivers, rest homes and family around occupational performance issues. 3/Supplying equipment to support independence. 4/Periodic Involvement in carer support groups. 5/ Sensory modulation.

Hawera:

Hawera Hospital has a 10 bed inpatient facility with both medical and elderly rehabilitation services. Occupational therapists are based in Hawera, providing an assessment and rehabilitation service to both inpatient and community clients.

Hand Therapist:

Hand therapists are located at Base Hospital, with twice weekly clinics held in Hawera. The therapists with either Occupational or Physiotherapy qualifications have undertaken postgraduate study to specialise in the treatment and rehabilitation of elbow, wrist and hand conditions/injuries.

Last updated: Friday, April 15, 2016