Occupational Therapy

What we do

Our Occupational Therapy service provides a range of services and therapies to patients and consumers. Our goal is to enable people to participate in their activities of daily living, ranging from personal and domestic tasks, to community, employment, leisure and recreational activities.

We aim to:

• Promote independence and maintain functional abilities for people's daily living, leisure and work 
• Facilitate safe discharge from hospital 
• Sustain safe community living 
• Prevent readmission to hospital (acute care)

At the RMH, occupational therapists provide:

• Functional retraining for activities of daily living, including training of carers when required
• Sensory, perceptual and cognitive retraining
• Seating, posture and positioning assessment and interventions
• Stroke rehabilitation, including the use of computer-based and gaming technologies
• Comprehensive home assessments
• Equipment and education
• Patient education, including home programs, precautions and strategies for daily activities, and post-surgical interventions
• Group therapy 
• Discharge planning, including patient and family education, completion of home assessments and recommendations for community supports

Our occupational therapists work across a wide range of services and clinics at the hospital as well as home-based services. We manage two Patient Appliance Centres for short term loan or purchase of aids and equipment.

Outpatient services focus on comprehensive assessment and interventions including health promotion, self-management, individual and carer interventions to support community living, prevention of functional decline and readmission.

Clients are actively involved in the therapeutic process.

Who can use our service

Our service is for:

• Patients at the RMH Parkville and the RMH Royal Park
• Patients who have been referred internally
• People in the community who have been referred to the Direct Access Unit by a health professional

Specialised services

Hand therapy

Our hand therapy services include:

• Splinting
• Range of motion: active and passive
• Oedema management
• Scar management
• Strengthening
• Pain management
• Home exercise programs
• Specialist education

View our hand therapy videos, which demonstrate different types of home exercises that may be prescribed by your hand therapist at the RMH.

Group therapies

We provide group therapy sessions for:

• Falls prevention
• Activity tolerance
• Back care
• Cardiac program addressing stress management and relaxation techniques 
• Discharge planning group sessions
• Breakfast and relaxation groups

Young Adults Transition Service

Young people who are transitioning from a paediatric service to an adult healthcare service can be supported by our Young Adults Transition Service.