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Occupational Therapy

Checked: 23-09-2023 by Next Review: 23-09-2025

Overview

The Children's Occupational Therapy service is designed to provide assessment and therapeutic intervention for children who have a complex, severe or enduring physical or developmental condition. The service works with children who have a condition which significantly affects their ability to achieve their potential, due to its impact on the child’s ability to complete activities of daily living.

Before referral

The following information is needed when making a referral:

Relevant history of the child and description of current needs.
A description of how any medical or developmental condition is affecting the daily function of the child.
A description of what other interventions have already been tried.
A description of what the referrer hopes the child will gain from intervention from the service.
Information about other professionals and agencies involved with the child.

Referral

Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset referrals

Anyone can make a referral to this service. Please use the Single Point of Entry (SPE) form to make a referral. This should also be available as an EMIS template.

In some cases, the service may request additional information about the child via a Functional Skills Checklist. The inclusion of a Functional Skills Checklist can help with referral process for children over the age of four.

All new referrals are jointly triaged by an Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist and an Early Years Speech and Language Therapist as appropriate on a weekly basis.

If a child meets the referral criteria, they will be offered an assessment. Depending on need, this may be a joint Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy assessment. If appropriate, this will include a Speech and Language Therapist, though they may also be assessed by a single service.

Contact details

You can contact the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy referral helpline if you have a concern about a child’s movement, or ability to undertake everyday tasks. This is available every Thursday between 9am and 12pm on 07917 393196, alternatively you can e-mail sirona.cchpotptadmin@nhs.net

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