Many people only have a very vague idea of what an Occupational Therapist does, and it usually involves checking whether an elderly patient can safety make a cup of tea, climb stairs and so on. But their work involves much more than this.

In many hospitals the Occupational Therapists are primarily responsible for assessing patient’s needs for the appropriate equipment they will need after a stay in hospital.

In Ross the department has a wide range of equipment puchased thanks to the ongoing and generous support of the Friends of the Hospital. OT Pauline Boughen of Ross Community Hospital told the Ross Gazette, “It is the envy of many, not just the equipment which is fantastic and would be beyond the reach of NHS resources, but the fabulous relationship with the Friends and the amazing support of the community.”

In the extremely well-equipped department at Ross Community Hospital the OTs take a whole person approach to both mental health and physical well-being.

They work with patients who have spent time in the hospital ensuring they are able to be discharged, but they also work with groups of patients at different stages of Alzheimers, and various other conditions.

Their aim is to encourage their clients to do as much as they can for themselves, and they work to modify activities so that clients can continue to do the things they want.

Last week the OT department at Ross Community Hospital organised an open day on Thursday, November 9th and invited local charities, the League of Friends, GPs, and school sixth formers to visit to see the work the department does with patients.

There was a great display of all the types of aids/equipment that they use with patients as well as OTs on hand to talk to students considering their career choice.

A member of the team, a student, told the Ross Gazette, “The hospital is amazing, it is a real community hospital, I have never known anywhere to be supported so well by the Friends and everyone works together to do the best for their patients.”