A day in the life of...a Housing Occupational Therapist

Jonathan Carty is part of the Health and Welfare Team at Your Choice Homes.  He provides an Occupational Therapy service to people with physical disabilities to ensure their housing suits their needs and helps them to live as independently as possible.

“I’m based at the Your Choice Homes office in Newcastle city centre, but I’m out and about all the time.  Here’s my diary from a Thursday in March..."

8.30 Arrive at office, check my emails and look at my calendar for the day.

9.00  Home visit.  A disabled customer has applied to be re-housed with priority status because she is finding it difficult to manage in her current home.  I need to get some more information from the lady so I can assess whether she should be given a priority and, if so, what sort of property will best suit her needs.  While I’m there, I explain the types of property that we have in Newcastle and we discuss the realistic housing options that are available to her.

11.00 Back to the office.  I spend an hour looking at applications from people who have applied for a housing priority on health grounds - there are some that I need more information about before I can make a decision so I email some colleagues in the NHS for further advice.  One application is from a person with mental health difficulties, so I discuss this with the Community Psychiatric Nurse who works at Your Choice Homes.  We also have a member of the team with a background in nursing  who deals with the health needs of older people.

12 – 1.00 I do some work on a report I’m writing for YHN and the NHS.  The report is about new procedures that will improve the way we provide housing for families with disabled children.

1 – 1.30 Quick break for lunch

1.30  - 2.30 The Your Choice Homes bidding cycle ends at noon on Thursdays.  One of the properties advertised this week had already been adapted for a disabled person so I will try to match this to a customer with a priority who has bid.  I’m aware of someone who the property would be suitable for, so I arrange a viewing for them for the next week.  I need to be satisfied that the property will suit their needs, so I’ll go with them too.

2.30 Travel to YHN House in South Gosforth for the Disabled Adaptation Panel.

3.00 – 4.00  The Disabled Adaptation Panel meets once every fortnight.  The panel is made up of officers from the City Council and the YHN Housing Management and Adaptations Team.  We discuss any complex cases we’re working on, and make decisions together about the best way to provide suitable housing in these circumstances.

4.30 I log onto a computer at YHN House to check my calendar for tomorrow. I have a meeting first thing at one of YHN’s new build sites.  I’ll be attending a site survey with the architects to give advice about how the new build properties can be accessible for people with disabilities.   I make a note of the address so I can go straight there in the morning.

4.45  Time to go home.