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Tavistock occupational therapists to hold drop-in events as part of National Occupational Therapy Week

by | 30th October 2019 | News

Tavistock healthcare workers are holding a series of public drop-ins next week to showcase the work they do.

Occupational therapists who work at Tavistock Hospital and in the local community are using the opportunity of National Occupational Therapy Week (4-10 November) to invite the public to come along to informal sessions in the town centre to chat about their work and the impact they have on enabling people to keep their independence for longer.

Six occupational therapists work in Livewell Southwest’s Community Rehabilitation Team in the town, alongside physiotherapists, a nurse, speech and language therapists and rehab assistants.

Alice Gray is one of the organisers and has been an OT for four years.

She said: “We’re looking forward to getting out to meet people and building awareness of what we can do to help them, and how people can access those services, what support is available as well as talking to family and carers to let them know what help is out there.”

“Occupational therapy is all about helping people get back to their normal daily occupations and activity after an illness or major surgery, so they can stay at home, retain their independence and live the best life they can.

“It includes guiding people to do approach a task differently to achieve their goals, like using a slow cooker if pans are getting heavy and difficult to hold, or getting a boiler if it’s hard to lift a kettle. And we help people suffering from mental illness get back into everyday activities such as work or volunteering.”

The drop-ins are at Tavistock Rest a While room by Tavistock pannier market on November 5, 7 and 8, 10.30am-12.30pm, and Tavistock Area Support Services (TASS) on November 6, noon -2pm.

The team will be on hand to give advice on the day, talk about adaptations and equipment available, with examples on display, and they’ll also be able to signpost to other useful groups and services, such as falls clinics and exercise groups and COPD groups.