28 September 2022
Written by Rachel Hutchinson,
Clinically reviewed by Rachel Hutchinson
World Occupational Therapy Day is a celebration of the amazing work done by Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants to help people live their best lives (whatever that means to the individual).
At Complete Care Shop, we’re incredibly lucky to be working with an in-house team of Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants. They’re on hand to help us with product advice, training, and even participate in the creation of new products.
We spoke to Rachel Hutchinson, Clinical Services Director of our parent company NRS Healthcare, to find out more about what kind of work our clinical team do.
“We have a clinical team of 140 people – over 60 of whom are qualified and registered Occupational Therapists,” says Rachel. “They’re all highly experienced professionals working hard across of the whole of the NRS Healthcare business, making a difference to all who use our services, colleagues and customers alike.
“For our retail customers from Complete Care Shop and Healthcare Pro, they’re on hand to provide help and advice via the telephone, live chat or email. This helps make sure that people purchase the correct items of equipment to support them in living more independently than they ever thought possible.”
“The team also supports on our 21 NHS and Social Care Community Equipment contracts from Hull to Torbay,” says Rachel. “This includes supporting the 25,000 healthcare professionals who work across them too. These contracts deliver vital equipment to over a quarter of a million people each year.
“They’re also involved in training local healthcare professionals, support staff, and NRS Healthcare colleagues in the correct use of equipment. They also train those in driver technician and customer service roles on how the equipment they sell or deliver should be installed and used safely.
“The work they do isn’t confined to training and product advice, however, they’re also assessing people virtually or at their homes across the UK who may need support. This could include recommending adaptations to allow them to carry on living independently, such as a level access shower, a stairlift, or an adapted extension to their home, or offering alternate ways of doing daily tasks to help make them easier. The increased use of Technology Enabled Care (TEC) has allowed our team to offer innovative solutions to increase or help maintain a person’s independence, helping them to stay safe, supported, and connected at home.
“Occupational Therapists are people who see you beyond your diagnosis or limitations,” says Rachel. “We focus on your hopes and aspirations enabling you to be more independent than you ever thought possible. We work with you to recommend adjustments to the way you live by looking at the relationship between the activities you want or need to do every day, the challenges you’re facing, and your environment – for example your home, bedroom, or car. These adjustments are practical, realistic, and personal to you, to help you achieve the breakthroughs you need to elevate your everyday life.
“The theme of this year’s World Occupational Therapy Day is “opportunity + choice = justice”, examining how Occupational Therapists can help break down barriers and even up the playing field for people who have traditionally been overlooked in society.
“Our Occupational Therapists work hard every day to ensure the people who use our services across NRS Healthcare are receiving the best services, choices, and support. We are proud of our contribution towards breaking down those barriers older and disabled people can face and making the world and fairer place.”
Our thanks to Rachel for her time. If you’re an Occupational Therapist interested in working for us, you can find our current vacancies here.
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