Publish date: 13 October 2023
This Saturday (October 14) marks Allied Health Professions' Day!
The day offers a platform to spotlight the remarkable impact AHPs have on the delivery of care.
As the third-largest clinical workforce within the health and care sector, AHPs play a pivotal role in supporting the NHS Long Term Plan.
The theme of this year’s AHPs’ Day is ‘AHPs in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills.
It has been chosen to link with one of the ‘enhanced foundations’ of the strategy AHPs Deliver.
To mark the day, we’re profiling a number of AHPs working across the Trust, thanks to everyone who put themselves forward!
Kagiso Mathabathe
I’m Kagiso and I am the occupational therapist for the Hounslow Crisis Assessment and Home Treatment Teams (HCAHTT).I moved to the UK from South Africa for this role which I started in December2022.
The best thing about working in the crisis team is how well my role is incorporated in the wider team, the team itself and the ability to work with patients in their homes and communities. I have so much freedom to do occupation-based treatment sessions and focus on the more basic and functional tasks when working with patients.
Occupational therapy sessions focused on promoting participation in occupation has improved our team’s reputation with patients as their experience on the crisis team has evolved from being solely focused on medication initiation and compliance which is medical model base to focusing on holistic interventions that would enable a quicker recovery.
I am mostly responsible for administering occupational therapy assessments and interventions. My day could look anything like assisting patients with initiating personal care and home hygiene tasks, helping patients access the community to doing more fun social activity groups like bowling or painting.
I also run wellness at work sessions with the staff once a month to encourage members of staff to take breaks and focus on their own mental wellbeing which is something I always look forward to.
My life mantra is “Busy hands, quiet mind", so when I am not at work, I am lifting weights in the gym, roller skating, doing potter, travelling or have my hands buried in some creative activity like a true OT! Occupation matters for anyone and everyone and I aim to practice what I preach.
Tosin Akamo
I'm Oluwatosin, a specialist physiotherapist originally from Nigeria, working within the Ealing community team for people with learning disabilities.
My role involves delivering 24-hour postural care, assessing and treating patients following falls and customizing exercise plans to address specific physiotherapy needs.
Beyond work, I enjoy sight seeing and swimming, although I’m far from being a pro swimmer! I’m proud to be part of our supportive team, making a meaningful impact in our patient’s lives.
Nuriyah Pochee
Hi my name is Nuriyah, I am a band 6 occupational therapist working as a part of the CAMHS Eating Disorder Service in West London.
I have recently relocated from Toronto, Canada but I'm not new to the UK, I completed my OT training here, but initially went back home to work.
I started within the adult mental health world working in - return to work and vocational rehab - but moved on to a role within an inpatient mental health team for children and youth.
I have been in my role in CAMHS for about 5 months now and I what I love the most is the variety that each day brings.
I work in a role that allows me to be creative in my interventions which are individualized from patient to patient. An eating disorder causes a lot of disruption in a young person’s life. A lot of them stop engaging in their day to day occupations such as school, sports, hobbies, and socializing with friends, as an adolescent those are incredibly meaningful.
The goal with the young people I work with is to get them back to doing age-appropriate occupations once they are weight restored. This may look like a graded return to school or sports, teaching life skills like food shopping or meal prepping as they prepare for university, or eating out in restaurants.
Other areas of focus within my role are emotional regulation/recognition, and screening for sensory difficulties. I really do enjoy the autonomy and variety that my role in CAMHS provides.
Yasmin Elders
My name is Yasmin and I am an occupational therapist that joined the Hounslow East MINT team in May 2023 through international recruitment from South Africa.
I qualified and worked as an occupational therapist in physical health in South Africa, so I am enjoying learning and navigating my new role within my team and mental health.
I really enjoy visiting markets on weekends and trying new cuisines, so I feel spoilt for choice since moving to London. I have received a lot of support since arriving and I am so happy to be a part of this Trust.
In simple terms occupations are any activities that are meaningful and give one purpose, this can be done in any context, alone or with others. The occupations we chose to do are important in shaping our identities and truthfully influence our health and wellbeing.
Through my job I have seen the wonders of people engaging in their occupations, using what they deem are meaningful as a tool to establish better health and well-being. It is a great way of getting people to engage with interventions without feeling like it is “therapy”.
I also believe that having a few occupations, done alone but also with others, is important in establishing a more balanced lifestyle. I love that in my job I look for what is important to clients as part of the holistic approach.
Saravanan Sivanithi
I am Saravanan Sivanithi (it's a bit of a tongue twister for some) and since July I've been working as a senior specialist physiotherapist in the Ealing community team for adults with learning disabilities.
I have been a physiotherapist for the past 23 years and graduated in the year 1998 (seems like a lifetime ago). I started my career as a community based paediatric physiotherapist in The Spastics society of Tamil Nadu, where I grew as a person, wearing a variety of hats in different capacities.
I did act as the clinical resource person and the head of the department of physiotherapy. I was involved in a variety of training programs as a resource person for rehabilitation professionals and primary health care physicians.
I have conducted more than 50 plus workshops in India and abroad in paediatric rehabilitation and still continue to do so online, if requested. Before coming to the UK, I worked at Qatar in one of the largest public health care groups in the Middle East and was part of Qatar Rehabilitation Institute.
As a physiotherapist, I always strive to get the best for the service users and we've recently started aquatic therapy for our service users, that was not present in the community physiotherapy service before (AHPS in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills!)
Outside of work I enjoy music, not from the Jurassic age, but rather the latest popular artists (I recently attended a mind-blowing concert at Wembley). I love to travel but haven't done loads and have only been to a few countries like the USA, Dubai, Qatar and now I am in London and would love to explore Europe. I love road trips, and I believe UK is the best country to achieve the right work life balance.