Equipment Assessment & Prescribing in Geelong & Surrounds
Equipment Assessment and Prescription
Equipment, also called assistive technology can assist you to be healthy, safe and independent. Equipment can reduce the need for carers, to help you maintain your dignity and self confidence.
Who uses equipment:
- a person with a new or existing condition such as stroke, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, brain injury, progressive condition or traumatic condition
- a person whose functioning is deconditioning due to age
- someone that has difficulty communicating
- someone that has difficulty remembering day to day information
How OT’s can help?
Our experienced occupational therapists have an extensive knowledge of equipment solutions available. These may be simple, low tech options or complex, high tech solutions.
We will always complete an assessment to determine your goals and then identify which item of equipment best suits your needs taking into consideration your home or community environment and supports. It’s important to complete an equipment trial to ensure the solution works for you.
Examples of equipment include:
- self care equipment: commodes, adjustable beds, over toilet frames
- environmental controls to help access your home environment
- wheelchairs, scooters and seating solutions such as recliner chairs
- postural supports to enable correct positioning in bed or in a chair
- tablets or devices and mounting to assist with communication and interaction with the environment and others
- items to assist with eating such as self levelling spoon or adapted cutlery
We complete funding applications.
Once the equipment is delivered and set up we ensure that we complete training to ensure you and your supports are confident in using the equipment.
Have a question for the GSOT team?
Occupations are everyday tasks that include things people need to, want to and are expected to do. (WFOT – World Federation of Occupational Therapists). Examples of occupations may be taking care of yourself and / or others, working, community activities and hobbies. Within occupational therapy we work with you to set client centred goals based on your strengths and limitations and work with you to achieve these functional goals.
The amount of funding you need for occupational therapy depends on your goals and your individual situation. We will conduct an initial assessment and following the initial assessment we will complete a report with a therapy plan giving you an indication of funding required to achieve each goal. We will discuss the importance of each goal with you so we can prioritise your funding. We normally suggest that you have 5 hours of funding available for the initial assessment, travel and report writing.
This will depend on your private health insurance. Please discuss with your private health insurance provider. In addition to private health insurance you can visit your GP and obtain a Enhanced Primary Care “EPC” plan for 5 discounted OT sessions.
Our therapists will meet with you at your chosen location. This may be in your home, place of work, in the community or at our clinic location.
We will complete an initial assessment which involves discussing and assessing your current function, limitations and strengths of function and then work together to form an intervention plan to achieve these goals. We will complete a report so you have a list of these goals and associated action plans.
It’s often helpful to have others present for your initial assessment to help provide information, this may be family members, support workers, other health professionals or support coordinators.