Occupational Therapy in Palliative Care
When living with a life-limiting illness, quality of life is the highest priority. Our Occupational Therapists provide compassionate support in your own home, focusing on enabling you to continue participating in the activities that matter most to you with dignity and comfort.
How We Can Support You
- Managing essential daily activities
- Fatigue and breathlessness management
- Advice on comfortable positioning and seating
- Adapting hobbies and legacy activities
The Aims of Palliative OT
- Enhance your quality of life
- Maintain your dignity, choice, and control
- Enable participation in meaningful activity
- Provide comfort and reduce distress
Enabling What Matters Most to You
In palliative care, Occupational Therapy is about focusing on the person, not the illness. We listen to understand what is truly important to you—whether that’s being able to sit comfortably in the garden, write a letter to a loved one, or simply manage your own personal care. Your goals are our goals.
Our support is highly practical. We can teach you **energy conservation techniques** to help manage fatigue, provide specialist equipment to make your daily living skills easier, and offer advice on positioning to maximise your comfort. We work closely with you, your family, and your wider care team to provide holistic support.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is OT different from physiotherapy in palliative care?
Physiotherapy often focuses on physical symptoms like pain, breathlessness, and maintaining mobility. Occupational Therapy focuses on helping you continue to participate in the ‘occupations’ or activities of daily life, adapting the task or environment to help you achieve your personal goals.
My loved one is very weak. What can an OT still do?
Even when energy is very limited, OT can make a huge difference. We can help with finding comfortable and supportive seating, adapting equipment for eating and drinking, and finding ways to continue with simple, meaningful hobbies from a chair or bed.
What do you mean by ‘meaningful activity’?
This is anything that is important to an individual’s identity and wellbeing. It can be as simple as being able to brush their own teeth, or as complex as completing a final project. We help find ways to make these activities possible.
Focus on Living, with Dignity and Comfort
To learn more about how our compassionate occupational therapy can support you or a loved one, please contact our friendly team for a no-obligation chat.