Occupational Therapy Trauma Team

Meet the team

• Senior Occupational Therapist (Team Leads) 
• Senior Occupational Therapists (rotational) 
• Occupational Therapists (rotational) 
• Senior Therapy Assistants 
• Occupational Therapy Assistant 

About us

The Trauma team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham work across both Ward 410 and Ward 412  

We also review trauma outliers on Ambulatory care, Ward 408 and Bournville Ward. 

Occupational therapy plays a vital role within major trauma and trauma services, supporting individuals who have sustained life changing injuries to regain independence and re-engage in meaningful daily activities. Major trauma often results in complex physical and cognitive challenges, requires a holistic and patient centred rehabilitation approach, a core strength occupational therapy.  

What we do

Occupational therapists in trauma support a diverse range of patient groups  

These include: 

• Major trauma: including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and polytrauma injuries.
• Amputation: where occupational therapy focuses on adaptation, functional independence and adjustment to limb loss.
• Trauma in older people: Aged 65 or above who experience trauma, often compounded by frailty and comorbidities. 
• Military trauma: Involving complex injuries sustained in combat or training environments, 
• Orthoplastic trauma: Including severe limb injuries requiring combined orthopaedic and plastic surgical management with a focus on limb reconstruction.

What to expect

Our team of Occupational Therapists have a specialist set of skills and work collaboratively with the wider multi-disciplinary team (MDT) within trauma to deliver safe, holistic care.  

OTs complete Comprehensive assessments these include: 

• Functional assessments of activities of daily living, including personal care and domestic tasks  
• Cognitive assessment and targeted rehabilitation to address deficits in memory, attention and executive function. Identification and management of delirium in acute setting  
• Physical assessments including transfers, mobility. 
• Specialist seating assessments to optimise posture, comfort and function  
• Provision of adaptive equipment to facilitate independence and safety  
• Home and access visits to assess environmental needs and support discharge planning . 
• MDT working: participation in Multidisciplinary team (MDT) discussions to support coordinated, patient centred care. 
• Management of complex cases requiring ongoing clinical reasoning and problem solving  
• Splinting: assess, identify and complete appropriate splinting of upper limbs including bespoke splints and standard splints.  
• Discharge planning: assess for Rehabilitation, home with package of care and equipment.

Who we work with

We work as part of a dynamic multi-disciplinary Major Trauma team, collaborating closely with Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Dietitians, Nursing staff, Healthcare Assistants, Surgeons, Doctors, Rehabilitation Consultants, Acute Case Managers, and Clinical Nurse Specialists to provide holistic and coordinated care throughout the patient’s recovery journey 

How to be referred

We complete a handover in the morning and will screen all patients to identify who is appropriate for the service.

We also receive referrals via our internal electronic referrals system (PICS) for those patients on outlier wards.