Edel Cotter Email & Phone Number

Cork, County Cork, Ireland

Primary Care, Cork

Adult Primary Care OT supporting independence and good quality of life within the home and the community. Working with clients, their families and carers to re-learn skills, assess and adapt the home, improve their ability to take in and use information, explore leisure or work needs and provide education on how to use enabling equipment.

Band 6 OT on a Specialist Stroke Rotation. Rotation 1 - Acute Stroke at Eastbourne District General Hospital

In order to gain NHS and neurological rehabilitation experience I am currently completing a rotation. Rotations: -Rapid Assessment and Discharge Service (Acute Medical Wards at The Conquest Hospital)-Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team

Band 6 OT in a Therapy Assisted Discharge Service

− As I was not licenced as an OT in Canada I chose to work in professional regulation during my time there. My Canadian work permit expired in June 2018; I have been travelling in Canada and relocating back to the UK/Ireland since leaving this position.− Completing detailed assessments of new international physicians wishing to apply for licensure in BC, analyse their professional history to establish if they are eligible for registration. − Manage the application and documentation processes for physicians seeking independent practice registration in BC.− Manage incoming phone calls to the Registration Department including general queries and concerns, providing accurate and timely responses. − Monitor and compile department statistics.

− Assessing adults with physical disabilities, establishing goals and making recommendations while making proper and sound decisions based on their assessed needs.− Prescribed and recommended appropriate major and minor adaptations, seating solutions, equipment provision and moving and handling systems.

− Moved to Canada for 7 months to experience living overseas, not licenced to practice as an OT. − Assisted with final stages of credentialing and licencing of Doctors in the province. − Supported physicians with annual licence renewal applications. − Created certificates of professional conduct.

− Assessing, goal planning, problem solving and intervention planning with very complex clients with physical and cognitive disabilities.− Care review project planning, management and implementation with minimal support. This project produced savings of £350,000 for the department per annum. − Responsible for developing and improving the moving and handling knowledge and skill of staff working for the borough, contracted by the borough and the carers of our customers. − Co-ordinating the boroughs moving and handling training programme.− Support OT, Physio and nursing colleagues with complex cases in informal supervision sessions or joint visits where appropriate. − Providing support and informal training to colleagues on a one to one basis and tailoring this support to meet the individual learning needs.− Training carers and patients/clients in their own homes, in a format that they understand.

− Manage a complex and varied caseload of adults with physical and/or cognitive disabilities, including complaint and high profile cases.− Formulating plans with clients to maximise their independence using a person centred approach.− Prescribed and recommended appropriate major and minor adaptations, seating solutions, equipment provision and moving and handling systems. − Ensure documentation and casework is carried out accurately in a timely fashion.− Work closely with professionals in my own team also from other teams ensuring that high standards of communication are adhered to at all times. − Manage joint OT and social work duty phones once weekly, responding to urgent calls appropriately and consistently prioritising the daily duty workload to minimise risk. − Provide a high level of customer service, ensuring that they are part of their own care pathway.

− Worked jointly with a Senior Physiotherapist on a Moving and Handling project focused on double-handed packages of care. − Involved in all aspects of the project planning including; initial communication with care agencies and service users and their families and other services in the borough. − Designed the moving and handling assessment form, moving and handling plans and standard letters to suit the needs of the project. − Lead in regular meetings with supervisors, piers, other services and care agencies informing them of findings, updates and recommendations highlighted during the project. − Reviewed complex and double handed care packages that were set up within RBKC and completed new moving and handling risk assessments to determine if the new provision of alternative equipment or adaptations or use of different techniques could improve service user dignity, independence, safety and reduce the strain on the care budget. − Jointly planned and facilitated in house moving and handling update sessions.

- Provided an OT service to both adults and children with enduring physical health needs living in the borough. - Act as an independent practitioner, visiting individuals in their homes to assess current level of functional ability and make recommendations to maintain/improve independence and quality of life.- Held a caseload of complex cases referred to the service and carry full responsibility for clinical decision making and problem solving to ensure a satisfactory outcome. - Communicated complex information across and between organisations to achieve successful outcomes for the individual.

In my first role as an OT I consolidated my core community OT skills including:− Specialist OT assessments of individuals with complex disability needs and design adaptive / rehabilitative client centred intervention plans, making best use of resources, in order to maximise service users' functional independence in activities of daily living within their homes. − Moving and Handling Risk assessments, recommendations and individual plans. − Housing assessments, recommendations and void property assessments. − Specialist seating assessments and recommendations to maximise clients comfort, function, independence, improve posture and to reduce the risk of skin breakdown.− Making detailed recommendations and drawings for major adaptations to service users' homes and to assist them in applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant.− Responding appropriately to urgent referrals and prioritise workload in response to levels of risk and duty of care. − Monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of planned OT interventions and adjust and revise these as appropriate, ensuring that agreed goals remain appropriate, achievable and safe.− In this role I have the opportunity to supervise and OT student and three staff members. − I was nominated for the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames staff excellence awards July 2012 by the Lead OT.

B.Sc. (Hons) Occupational Therapy, Occupational Therapy/Therapist, 2:1

Leaving Certificate, 1A, 5B, 1C