Our therapy team consists of occupational therapists, physiotherapists and therapy assistants who work to help you live life to the fullest.

We work to assess your mental and physical wellbeing and help to provide strategies to optimise your physical activity as well as enhance independence in day-to-day tasks and activities. Whatever means the most to you at all stages of your illness, the therapy team is here for you.

After we receive a referral for you, we assess you holistically and work closely with other teams to help you reach your goals.

We work with you face to face in your home, via video consultation at Katharine House, and in the Living Well service or on the inpatient unit.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy aims to put quality back into a patient’s life by seeing beyond the diagnosis and focusing on a patient’s hopes and aspirations. Focusing on the everyday activities (their occupations) that are important to them as individuals leads to improvements in a patient’s ability to do the things they need and want to do. Occupational therapy also helps make improvements to relationships, communication and connections as well as mood, rest and sleep.

Physiotherapy

Our physiotherapists specialise in helping people with palliative care needs to manage their condition. This is achieved through improving strength and function by using exercise programmes; helping patients to manage their symptoms; improving mobility to ensure a patient can move around independently, and help manage breathlessness and pain.

What we do

We are here to:

• help you to maintain independence through education and advice.
• provide personalised exercise and rehabilitation programmes.
• give lifestyle management advice, including leisure activities and new hobbies or interests.
• help you to manage symptoms, such as breathlessness, anxiety and fatigue.
• show you relaxation techniques.
• assess you for specialist equipment.
• give moving and handling advice and an environmental assessment.
• help with future planning when deterioration is anticipated.
• assist with psychological adjustments related to loss of function.
• support and educate carers and other family members on loss of function or cognitive ability.
• help with discharge planning from the inpatient unit.
• be a resource for therapists working in other healthcare settings with people who have complex life-limiting illness.