Independent Occupational Therapist

JULIE SWANN

Work Experience and Training

Professional Qualifications and Membership

  • Diploma in Occupational Therapy gained at Liverpool College of Occupational Therapists.
  • Qualified Occupational Therapist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
  • Member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists.
  • NVQ qualified Work Based Assessor (Vocational and Skills Assessor) and Internal Verifier.
  • Single joint expert witness trained by Bond Salon.
  • Law Society Expert Witness - checked and listed in 2003 - 2006 directory.

Specialised training courses attended

  • ACCESS auditing 2004.
  • European Computer Driving License (ECDL) 2004
  • Clinical supervisors courses.
  • Bobath and "Normal Movement" trained.
  • Assessment techniques and psychological testing giving access to the P level tests.
  • Head injuries post graduation course.
  • City & Guilds 9206 Information Technology course.
  • Internet and webpage design.
  • NVQ Skills Assessor, Vocational Assessor and Internal Verifiers award. (City & Guilds D31, D32 and D33).
  • Assessment in Pain Management.
  • BTEC National Diploma in Design (3D studies).
  • Single joint expert training with Bond Salon (March 2001).

Hospital experience - 13 years

For 3 different Health Authorities within 6 hospitals in the UK.

Specialisms included elderly rehabilitation, general medicine, orthopaedics, neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and burns. In senior positions experience extended to upper limb prosthetic training, working in a stroke research unit and neurosciences.

Community experience - 3 years

As a Senior Community Occupational Therapist, I inherited an 18 month backlog of referrals. My main role was to assess individuals in their own home and arrange for the supply of equipment and/or adaptations to property to minimise the impact of disability.

I extended this role to include providing treatment for clients within their own homes, Social Service funded residential care homes, and local special schools. In addition I covered community based paediatrics for twelve months.

Independent practice

In 1991 I set up in private practice as an Occupational Therapist initially expecting to provide rehabilitation to clients within their own homes. Over this period I have taken on additional varied referrals including requests for:

  • CSCI Standard 22 Reports
  • OT reports instructed by legal representatives, individual clients, insurance companies or agencies obtaining expert witness reports. This forms the main part of my present work.
  • Rehabilitation to patients in private hospitals.
  • Staff training for care staff including NVQ related topics.
  • Occupational Therapy for residents in private Nursing and Residential care homes.
  • Developing the role of activity coordinators in private care homes and providing training sessions to equip the staff with the necessary skills. This ranges from staff working single-handed in a home to a group of 12 homes with 2 full-time activity coordinators in post in each home.
  • Treatment, on a nationwide basis, to head injured case managed clients and advice to the client's family, support workers, case managers, legal representatives etc.
  • Short term work for Social Services to clear waiting list.
  • Assessing 'customers' needs for adaptations and making recommendations to a Housing Association
  • Research project for RICA.
  • Consultancy to a Head Injury Case Management Company
  • Writing articles for the British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, the International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, Therapy Weekly, Nursing and Residential Care.
  • Book published in 2007 - 'Promoting independence and activity in older people'

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