The Occupational Therapy Team in Bradford

Being Part of the Occupational Therapy Team in Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust

We are a large team of full and part-time Occupational Therapists, Therapy Assistants and clerical support. As part of the Rehabilitation Team we work closely with Physiotherapists and other staff groups in each work area.

Specialties include:

• General Medicine
• Neurology / Neuro Outreach
• Elderly: in patients, intermediate care, community settings and Enablement 
• Accident and Emergency
• Rheumatology/ Musculoskeletal 
• Orthopaedics
• Paediatrics.
• Renal
• Cardiac rehab
• Elderly assessment
• Plastics
• Pulmonary rehab

Occupational Therapists work at St Luke's Hospital, the Bradford Royal Infirmary, Community Hospitals, schools and the community.

Bradford covers a large geographical area from Haworth to Ilkley and Keighley to the M62. We cover inner city, surburban and rural communities.

Bradford has a multicultural population with a wide variety of ethnic groups.

Together with Social Services we have been pursuing a wide variety of integrated working initiatives.

Rotation available

Band 5 rotation (6 months) within Bradford Hospitals, this can include:

• Elderly care
• Medical wards
• Neuro Outreach
• Childrens' services
• Trauma orthopaedics
• Rheumatology/ Musculoskeletal
• Cardiology, Haematology, Oncology
• Intermediate care/ Locality( 6 months) 

Band 6 rotations may include:

• Domiciliary Rehab
• Intermediate care units
• Care of elderly. St Luke's Hospital
• General medicine. Rheumatology. St Luke's Hospital
• Neuro unit. St Luke's Hospital
• General medicine and oncology. Bradford Royal Infirmary
• Wheelchair Services
• Vascular
• Childrens' services

All staff and students have an initial induction period to their specific area, the Occupational Therapy department and the Trust.

Students are taken on placement from a number of universities and gradually build on learning and responsibilities through supervision with their Fieldwork Educator and support from the whole team.

Work experience students also have the opportunity to observe the team.

Main Areas Covered within Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy does not only focus on a disability that you can see e.g. broken arm, but also the hidden disabilities. Occupational Therapists use a problem solving approach to ensure effective treatment programmes for individual patients.

The following are skills which are important in managing everyday life and which are assessed by the Occupational Therapists:-

• P.A.D.L - Personal activities of daily living e.g. the ability to wash and dress
• D.A.D.L - Domestic activities of daily living e.g. the ability to prepare a hot drink, do the washing, clean the house. 
• Transfers - e.g the ability to safely get on and off furniture at home
• Memory
• Concentration
• Sequencing
• Perceptual Skills
• Kinaesthetic
• Linguistic Skills
• Integration of Skills
• Reasoning

Deficit in any of the above areas can cause educational problems/ emotional and social difficulties which may affect patients everyday life.

Occupational Therapists also consider things such as social and  cultural issues, religious background, age and gender when assessing patients as these will have an effect on treatment plans.