Occupational Therapy
An Occupational Therapist (OT) maximises your child’s performance and helps young people achieve independence in everyday occupations at home, school tasks, play, and leisure activities.
Occupational Therapy (OT) at Alder Hey helps acutely ill or injured children and adolescents to regain lost skills and learn new ones so they can participate in everyday activities to their full potential.
An Occupational Therapist will assess and treat your child in areas like:
- Self-care
- Play/leisure
- Accessibility
- Upper limb function and activity
- Positioning and seating
- Wheelchair advice and referral
- Activities related to school
- Child Development
Occupational Therapists can advise on discharge planning to ensure that the home environment is safe for your child upon discharge from hospital; this may also be done in collaboration with local Occupational Therapy services.
If you need to contact the hospital team, please call the main hospital switchboard number: (0151) 228 4811.
You can follow the team on Twitter, too - @AlderHeyOT
Community Occupational Therapy
If you or your child has been referred to one of our Community Occupational Therapy teams, then click the below button to find out more about the teams, including who they are and what they do.
Helpful videos
Further information
Information for families: Services we work with
Occupational Therapists work with patients across a number of services at Alder Hey.
Hospital to Home
Hospital to Home Occupational Therapy service at Alder Hey works with the very youngest children, helping them to work towards developmental goals and providing advice and or equipment to help with everyday activities where needed. Your baby may be referred by the hospital or community teams. In-patients from any area may be referred; for out-of-area children we will link with the child’s local service for follow-up at discharge.
For children with a Liverpool GP we continue to be involved following discharge, where needed; working closely with the Community Physiotherapy 0-5 Team. We also work together to provide joint early intervention for children referred by Liverpool Women’s Hospital through the STEP team (Shared Therapy Early Planning).
Neuromuscular
The Occupational Therapist in the neuro-muscle service provides a regional role to support local services with specialist condition-based knowledge and advice. The OT also provides specialist assessments including specialist standardised measures to aid diagnosis and inform supportive provision for the child in school and at home. The OT facilitates timely referral for equipment and environmental assessment to local services.
Rheumatology
Occupational therapy in rheumtology will assess and treat children and young people under the care of the rheumatology team who have functional difficulties due to their diagnosis or treatment. Conditions may include Juvenile Arthritis, Juvenile Dermatomyositis, Scleroderma, Juvenile Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, chronic pain and complex regional pain syndrome. Children with hypermobility are seen if they are under the care of the rheumatologist. Children are seen in Multi-Disciplinary Team assessment clinics, in outpatient clinics and whilst on the ward.
Oncology
Occupational Therapy in oncology will assess and treat children and young people who have functional difficulties as a result of their diagnosis, treatment or surgery. Conditions may include solid tumours, tumours of the central nervous system or leukaemia. Children are seen as inpatients, oncology day care or as outpatients. Occupational Therapy will assess areas of self-care, school, fine motor skills, productivity, play and leisure. Referral is made on to community teams as appropriate.
Long Term Ventilation
We provide Occupational Therapy input to support the Long Term Ventilation team. Primarily this is focussed on invasively ventilated patients in their transitional care phase, with a focus on supporting discharge planning.
Acute inpatient neuro-rehabilitation
We provide Occupational Therapy input for referred in –patients who have a newly acquired brain injury. We work as part of the wider multi-disciplinary team and provide therapeutic intervention to help patients to regain skills and are proactive in discharge planning.
We also provide input to referred in-patients who have newly acquired spinal cord injury, working closely with other disciplines and liaising with specialist centres and community services to promote ongoing rehabilitation and discharge planning.
We have a rehabilitation kitchen and dedicated therapy space for inpatient therapy.
Hands
Occupational Therapy for hands will assess and provide upper limb splinting for children with congenital hand deformities, post botox follow up and community children with cerebral palsy. Predominantly the child is provided with a splint and advice on how to maximise function during activities of daily living. Children are seen in outpatient clinics and on the wards, referrals are made on to local services as appropriate.
Trauma – Children who have had an injury to their hands are also treated to regain full range of movement and function. Using a full range of treatment modalities including education, exercises, splintage, function, play and scar management.
Burns
The Occupational Therapist (OT) works alongside the Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT) to provide therapy for both in and out patients who have had a burn injury. The OT will use specialist skills in splinting, exercises, function and scar management to optimise outcomes for their patient. They monitor both acute and long term burns patients to ensure that the scarring does not limit movement and function.
Children's Occupational Therapy - Liverpool Community
There are two Occupational Therapy services in the Liverpool area. Services for Liverpool are managed by Liverpool City Council and services for Sefton are managed by Alder Hey Hospital.
Find out more about the Liverpool Community Occupational Therapy Team who work with young people in a variety of settings outside hospital. Contact Careline on (0151) 233 3700 or look up https://fsd.liverpool.gov.uk/kb5/liverpool/fsd/service.page?id=wcz_pXKyJCY&localofferchannel=4 for more information.
