“I have had a huge positive experience working with occupational therapy (OT), the team has made me feel safe and presented me with lots of positivity, smiles and laughter” said a patient on Birch ward at West Park Hospital in Darlington.
Writing about their experience, the patient, wrote: “the OT team helped me gain my confidence back massively, they’ve also been a huge impact in supporting me to understand who I really am and how much greater life would be without illness.
“Having regular one-to-one appointments is so important and has allowed me to create a trustworthy relationship and feel comfortable working on challenging tasks which I could do independently.”
Our OT’s support many patients, helping them progress to a ‘normal’ way of life, overcome barriers and getting them to live independently and even into work. They help people to become as able as possible wherever they live, and whatever health issues they may have. They think with you about all areas of your life; any activities that you do or would like to do that are important to you.
Millie Gallone, occupational therapist, said: “In our role we support patients to make the small changes, to work towards bigger goals, this way, each step that is taken feels achievable, leading them to work towards living a fulfilling and meaningful life.”
“It’s great to see the patients progress and helping them accomplish tasks that were once very difficult to do.”
You can read more about the patient’s experience below. Scroll down to read the transcript.
As a patient on Birch ward, I have had a huge positive experience working with occupational therapy (OT).
Not only have the OT team helped me gain my confidence back massively, they’ve also been a huge impact in supporting me to understand who I really am and how much greater life would be without illness.
Having regular 1:1 appointments is so important and has allowed me to create a trustworthy relationship and feel comfortable working on challenging tasks which I could do independently.
Within OT we have covered a range of areas such as improving my confidence in social situations by going out into the town centre and asking for items in shops. We also challenged eating out in a social environment which has been holding me back from being able to spend time gong places and enjoying doing things. The OT team have helped me in preparation for life at home by carrying out a mock interview, to give me a greater idea of what to expect when being interviewed for a job.
On the ward, OT also support patients with meal prep when they’re at a reasonable stage in their recovery process, this helps us gain confidence and independency around food.
Not only do the OT provide 1:1 sessions, they also carry out a selection of groups and activities which is optional for patients to participate in. An example of a group I attend was ‘identify group’, this involved patients looking through resources, such as magazines and selecting a piece of material they related to or found motivating for them. This group gave me the incentive as to all the positive things I’ve got to look forward to and my goals for the future.
To conclude, occupational therapy, in my opinion has made being an inpatient more effective and as hard as it is, being away from home, they’ve made me feel safe and presented me with lots of positivity, smiles and laughter.
