Who Can Access Occupational Therapy Services?

Our Occupational Therapy (OT)team assists clients to safely and confidently achieve the tasks of daily life in the home, the workplace and the community.

Vista Healthcare is able to help children, adults (over 18) and older adults. We have extensive experience servicing the aged care sector.

  • NDIS participants
  • Homecare package clients
  • Private paying individuals
  • Workcover, CDP, DVA, STRC
  • Residential aged care

The term occupational refers to the daily tasks we perform. So Occupational Therapy is broad in nature, helping each individual achieve the necessary functional capacity to perform these tasks.

Home Visiting Occupational Therapists

How are Occupational Therapy Services Delivered?

Vista Healthcare provides interventions under a range of capacities.

  • Home visits
  • Environmental assessments & strategies
  • Submitting NDIS request forms for Assistive Technology
  • Managing home modifications projects
  • Prescribing, trialling & reviewing assistive equipment

People have inspiring goals they want to achieve! These goals can relate to many different areas of life.

In all of these cases, our clinicians would work closely with the individual to guide and support progress towards these goals. Goals are reviewed as necessary.

Our OTs Specifically Address

  • Fine motor skills (handwriting, the ability to play piano)
  • Gross motor skills (walking, or safely moving from sitting to standing)
  • Cognitive skills (concentration, multitasking)
  • Self-care skills (dressing, using the bathroom, making breakfast safely)
  • Visual perception (overcoming changes in flooring, as well as improving lighting through home modifications)
  • Organisational skills
  • Falls prevention
  • Social engagement skills (prevalent in pediatrics)

Equipment Prescription

Our OTs are commonly contacted to review and prescribe equipment that help improve safety and independence.

Assessments are conducted to identify equipment that will be helpful for their individual circumstances. Assistive equipment can include the following:

  • Wheelchairs, both manual and electric
  • Specialised cushions
  • Scooters
  • Beds and mattresses
  • Adapted cutlery
  • Walking aids
  • Hoists

NDIS Occupational Therapy

In the event a patient is receiving funding for equipment (i.e. NDIS participants) we are able to lodge equipment request forms and help obtain funding for equipment that is clinically reasonable and necessary.

We are experienced with complex AT request forms, we are experienced in handling feedback from the NDIS to justify reasonable and necessary supports.

There are cases where a multitude of equipment may be beneficial. Vista Healthcare will work with equipment suppliers to trial the equipment with the patient before committing to purchasing.

 

Home Modifications

Home modifications encompass a range of changes to a property aimed towards increasing safety and independence.

There are minor environmental as well as significant environmental impact modifications.

Home modifications can include:

  • Rails
  • Non slip surfaces for wet areas
  • Ramps
  • Bathroom/kitchen redesigns
  • Access changes
  • Stair climbers

We also carry out report writing, planning of proposed works, and submission of paperwork to relevant bodies including the NDIS and the Department of Housing.

We are mindful every property type will have a unique ownership agreement, and we are aware of the NSW legislation that governs this aspect of healthcare.

Vista Healthcare coordinates with contractors who carry out the physical works; this assists in streamlining the process to ensure the project is turned around efficiently.

Recommendations for home modifications are based on a comprehensive assessment carried out by our expert clinicians, taking into account the patient’s capabilities, limitations, goals, and existing environment.

Learn more about home modifications.

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Occupational Therapy FAQ

  • Is Occupational Therapy a one-off or ongoing service?

    We support clients with one-off scenarios (such as providing a single piece of assistive equipment – such as a walker), though in many cases, we adopt an ongoing role. This is stipulated during our initial consultation.

    Each client has varying needs, circumstances, goals and funding limitations. From this, we compose a healthcare support plan that all parties consent to. This includes calculating long term costs, equipment trial periods, reassessments and equipment review periods.

    In complex cases, clients receive a combination of both Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy services from us.
    We discuss these solutions with the client and formalise a plan so everyone is aware of what to expect.

  • What happens if I am moving house or if my requirements change?

    It is common for patients to move properties. In the event you are changing homes, please notify us as soon as possible, ideally before you move in!

    Our Occupational Therapists will conduct an environmental assessment of the new property and help plan the transition. This is primarily ensuring the new property is safe to and enables independent living.

    For example, a person that is deaf may be using a camera system to see when visitors arrive at the front door, and this system must be migrated to the new property.

  • Do I need a referral to see an Occupational Therapist?

    Private clients, NDIS participants & Home Care clients do not need a referral to engage our services. Many of our clients, however, are referred to us directly from their GP.

    For clients accessing our services through organisations such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Chronic Disease Management or Worker’s Compensation, a GP referral will be required. There will also be additional administrative requirements in these cases, which we can assist with.

  • How do your Occupational Therapists help people participate in daily or social life?

    This is quite a variable answer.

    When working with pediatrics with disabilities, these families are often looking for behavioural management and emotional support. We introduce play that develops fine motor skills, suggest clothing with large zippers, prescribe modified cutlery, practice language skills, etc. All of these facets contribute to developing life skills and living independently.

    In the adult and aged care sector, a common goal is to access the community again. Our Occupational Therapists would then engage with the client and their carers to establish ways to do this confidently and safely, perhaps through the use of a motorised scooter and lowering fatigue levels.

    We play a role in engaging other providers in the community as well, to create the best possible outcomes for each client.

  • How can your Occupational Therapists help people feel dignified while receiving therapy?

    We acknowledge and respect that people are impacted in many different ways.

    In our experience, education, empowerment and training improves confidence.

    As an example, being prescribed a walker can initially feel like admitting decline. It is our role to educate clients so that they understand a walker is actually going to increase independence and quality of life.

    We help them to understand these positives: with the walker they can move more, experience more, and decrease their chance of injury. We are honest with our patients too, we may gently remind them about the repercussions of falling and visiting the hospital that would be a set-back.

    This often comes back to setting meaningful goals. For example, “I no longer visit the cafe with my friends two streets over, I want to do that again”. At Vista Healthcare, we set meaningful goals such as these as it improves motivation and outcomes.