BOPDHB Checkup July 2016 | Page 15

What have you got planned for the weekend? By Occupational Therapist Health in Aging, Emma Green. As part of this, Allied Health is trialling a ‘weekend plan’ in the form of a sticker in the notes, to communicate rehabilitation goals to staff working over the weekend. This is a frequent question one often ponders over on a Friday. But what if you are a patient recovering from a health issue that has affected your occupational performance? This might include simple activities like sitting in a chair routinely to build sitting balance, walks around the ward to increase endurance or being encouraged to dress themselves independently. To a person rehabilitating from a health issue such as a stroke, or broken bone, the idea that rehabilitation happens between 0800 and 1630 Monday to Friday is perhaps a bizarre one. However, in our hospital this is often a reality. A group of staff from Health in Aging (HIA) has set out to change this with a project to champion a 24/7 rehabilitative model of care. The patient is very much at the heart of this model of care, with the team working together to achieve their goals. We are hoping that this improved communication can only improve the journey for the patients. We look forward to sharing more highlights from this exciting project over the coming months. “The strength of the team is each individual member; the strength of each member is the team.” Phil Jackson. 15