At the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Spinal Injuries Unit, the impact of occupational therapists is truly life changing. The walls of the rehabilitation area are lined with stars, each one featuring praise from patients whose lives have been transformed.
Mary shares, “The occupational therapy team has helped me tremendously with my recovery, doing everyday skills which I took for granted before.” Stuart adds, “The harder I work with the team to use my hands, the better my skills will be to do my everyday tasks.”
These testimonials are just a glimpse into the experiences of the patients. Take Mikey Reid, for example. Mikey, 43, from Paisley, has been at the Spinal Injuries Unit for three months after a fall that left him unable to move. Thanks to the dedicated rehabilitation team, Mikey has progressed from being immobile to walking with just one crutch and significantly improved upper body mobility.
“The journey from start to finish in this unit has been incredible. It’s been a whirlwind. The staff are amazing and encourage you at every point. Any time that you feel down or low, there is always a person there to pick you up and get you ‘back on your feet’ so to speak,” Mikey said.
This week, as part of Occupational Therapists Week, the Spinal Injuries Unit has been running meaningful activities, empowering patients and their families with the tools and knowledge to reclaim their lives post-injury.
This included a series of engaging hand therapy sessions. Over five days, patients participated in therapy sessions on kitchen skills, return to work skills, health and wellbeing, and flower arranging. These sessions were designed to encourage hand movement in a therapeutic and engaging way, strengthening the patients’ ability to perform everyday tasks in ways that are meaningful to them.
Calum, an Occupational Therapist at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, explained, “Our role is to support patients in getting back to doing the things they want, need, and love to do. This week, the events focused on hand therapy. This is important as it allows people to regain use of their hands and upper limbs after a spinal cord injury. We do quite a lot of functional tasks and teach people new ways of working with their hands to complete things they will do every day.”
