Personal injury claims: The role of an Occupational Therapist
If you have suffered an injury and require intensive medical care to get you back on your feet, a range of medical specialists can help you on your road to recovery. In our previous article on experts and the role they play in proving your case, both during the liability and determining the value thereof, we listed more than 25 different specialities that you may come across.
See our article on Medical Negligence – Medico Legal Experts
One of the specialties that most people with an injury will make us of is Occupational Therapy.
The word “occupational” in occupational therapy can be misleading. This profession is not about vocational counselling or work training.
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy is the art and science of guiding people with activity limitations to perform the important daily activities (self-care, leisure and work tasks). The aim is to optimise functional abilities so that people are able to participate in their communities.
Occupational Therapy is provided for people who are at risk of occupational dysfunction, for example, people with developmental delays or learning disabilities or physical and/or psycho-social dysfunctions.
An Occupational Therapist, also commonly referred to as an OT, treat injured, ill, or disabled patients through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. They help these patients develop, recover, improve, as well as maintain the skills needed for daily living and working (called “ADL’s”). Occupational therapists also focus much of their work on identifying and eliminating environmental barriers to independence and participation in daily activities.
In a personal injury matter, whether caused by medical negligence or road accident, an Occupational Therapist can give recommendations to the court on therapy, equipment and adaptations needed in the client’s best interest. These recommendations are often given in the form of medico-legal reports, prepared specifically for the use in litigation.
Qualifications and training needed
Occupational therapy is a regulated health professional and requires a specific university training which complies with national and international standards of training. Occupational Therapists aren’t doctors but are qualified healthcare practitioners.
Occupational Therapists begin their studies with a four year BSc degree. A Master’s degree or a more advanced degree in occupational therapy is required in order to work as an occupational therapist. Since 2003 compulsory Community Service was implemented and forms part of an Occupational Therapist’s training. Prospective students as well as qualified occupational therapists must register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The Occupational Council for Occupational Therapists regulates the training and work performance standards.
Do I need to go to hospital?
Occupational therapy can be implemented just about anywhere. It is practiced in a wide range of public, private, voluntary sector settings, such as the person’s home environment; schools; workplaces; health centres; supported accommodation; housing for seniors; rehabilitation centres; hospitals and forensic services. Occupational Therapists do make use of special equipment such as an exercise ball, weights, mats, adapted tables and devices which are usually kept in equipped therapy rooms.
Patients are actively involved in the occupational therapy process. The outcomes are client-driven and measured in terms of participation, satisfaction derived from occupational participation and/or improvement in occupational performance.
Examples of Occupational Therapy intervention
Various health issues can pose barriers to participating in daily activities. Occupational therapists help people to:
- Learn new ways of doing things;
- Regain skills and develop new ones;
- Use materials or equipment that makes life easier; or
- Adapt their environment to work better for them.
Occupational Therapists work with people of all ages – infants to seniors – in many different ways. Here are a few examples:
- Working with children and teachers in a classroom to help children develop skills such as handwriting or computer use or to provide strategies to manage behaviours – skills that will make it easier for students to learn and thrive in school.
- Working with patients admitted to hospital following a stroke or brain injury to assess and treat cognitive impairment – problems with the ability to think, remember or communicate – to help patients recover from or manage issues related to their condition.
- Working with clients to identify and purchase equipment, such as wheelchairs or bathroom safety devices, to ensure clients can safely return to or remain at home when their physical abilities have changed as a result of a condition such as multiple sclerosis or arthritis.
- Working with clients following a workplace or motor vehicle injury to determine what the client may need in the future to be able perform their daily activities.
- Working with clients, who have experienced a change in their physical or mental abilities, to return to work by adapting how they do their job, what type of job they do or making changes to the workplace environment.
If you would like more information on the medical negligence claims process, feel free to contact our offices at 012 809 1588 or paul@pauldup.co.za