Occupational Therapy News July 2020 | Page 44

FEATURE CRITICAL CARE
Occupational
therapy in
critical care – a
case for change
During the COVID-19 pandemic a spotlight
has been shone on critical care. Here, Cecily
Borgstein examines the role of occupational
therapists in this area, and makes a case for
establishing occupational therapy in every intensive
care unit
The last few months have seen huge changes across
healthcare and many occupational therapists have
found themselves working in intensive care units
(ICUs), where they may have had little or no input
before.
We know that early rehabilitation is linked to better
outcomes for patients (Castro-Avila et al 2015), but what can
occupational therapists bring to the ICU?
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) sets
out clear quality standards for rehabilitation after critical
illness in adults. These include providing holistic,
multidisciplinary team, goal-focused rehabilitation,
looking at physical needs as well as psychological,
emotional and psychiatric problems, and
cognitive dysfunction (NICE 2017).
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44 OTnews July 2020