Occupational Therapy: Hand Therapy
What the Hand Therapy service is and offers:
The Hand Occupational Therapist will assess your hand(s) and provide you with information, advice and appropriate therapy to help you achieve optimal use of your hand(s). The service considers the impact of your hand function during home, work and leisure activities.
The Occupational Therapist will work with you to agree a personalised treatment plan, to achieve the health outcomes that matter to you. The plan will include consideration of your physical and psychological status, as well as your social role and responsibilities. The Occupational Therapist will communicate on your behalf, as required, with the other members of the medical team.
The service offers the following types of treatment:
- Rehabilitation after operations, including graded home exercises programme (HEP), splints (see information below), scar management and advice on graded return to function
- Long-term management of rheumatic conditions. This includes assessment and provision of splints, opportunities to try assistive devices, person-centred home exercises programme (HEP) and advice on fatigue management and wellbeing
- Graded home exercises programme (HEP) for conditions often caused from activity or overuse, plus provision of splints and advice for adapting what you do to allow recovery
- Work-based assessment and support to remain in work with reasonable adjustments
A splint is a device used to help support, rest, protect or aid function. It is usually made of a plastic material and is sometimes moulded individually to fit your hand(s). The range of splints available include those made for the individual using a thermoplastic or similar material, which are made during an appointment, or manufactured splints made from firm plastic or a soft material.
Locations of the service:
Hand Therapy clinics are held on weekdays at the following Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) sites:
- Ystradgynlais Community Hospital
- Bronllys Community Hospital
- Llandrindod Wells Memorial Hospital
Home visits can be completed where deemed necessary by the Occupational Therapist.
Virtual video calling (online via the internet) is also used to assess and treat, as well as telephone and email.
How you can access the service:
People aged 18 years and over who have hand-related rehabilitation needs and are a resident of Powys can access the Hand Therapy Service.
The service cannot respond to acute hand injuries or emergencies. In that scenario it is advised that you seek a medical assessment from your GP (General Practitioner), Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) or Accident and Emergency unit (A&E).
To access the Hand Therapy Service, you can complete the self-referral form available at the following link. Alternatively, you can contact the service by telephone (contact details are provided at the bottom of this webpage):
Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB)
Hand Therapy Service Self-Referral Form
Once a referral is received, it is checked, prioritised and assigned to the waiting list for the hand therapy clinic nearest to your home address. You will be contacted if further details are required or if the referral request is considered inappropriate for the service.
Assuming the referral is approved, you will either be sent a letter with details of your appointment, along with a request to confirm your attendance, or you will be contacted by telephone / text message.
Referral criteria advice and other advice for Healthcare Professionals:
Referrals for patients under 18 years old can also be accepted with parental consent.
Conditions treated include:
- Rheumatic conditions
- Acquired or congenital neurological conditions
- Tendinopathies
- Post-operative tendon or nerve repair
- Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Please include any protocol to be followed.
The following are not available via this service:
- Steroidal injections
- Requests for nerve conduction studies
- Imaging
Thermoplastic static splints can be fabricated, and other manufactured splints can be assessed for and provided. Bespoke dynamic splints are not fabricated.
Please see the following link for the referral form to use to refer a patient to the Hand Therapy Service. This form is for healthcare professionals’ use only:
What you should expect before and during appointments:
The Occupational Therapist (OT) will gather information from you about your symptoms related to your hands or condition, including:
- How they impact your function during home, work and leisure activities
- Which specific tasks you struggle with
- Which tasks you would like to enhance / be able to do
- How the symptoms affect your sleep, energy and wellbeing
- Your other medical conditions you are aware of
Information will be gained through a range of assessments. These can include you moving your hand as requested by the OT as well as your hand being felt and moved by the OT. This is completed while wearing normal clothes.
The strength and sensation in your hand may also be assessed. Additionally, you may try on manufactured supports.
An appointment can last up to 60 minutes.
Your appointment will be completed either in a large room divided by curtains or in a separate room depending on location. The Occupational Therapy Hand Therapy clinics work from Physiotherapy departments in the Powys hospitals listed above.
There is no reception in either Ystradgynlais or Bronllys Community Hospitals’ Physiotherapy departments. Please use the waiting areas and your therapist will come to you.
If you would like a chaperone or for your appointment to be conducted in Welsh, please contact the service prior to your appointment.
Advice and support resources:
Contacting the service:
The Hand Therapy Service can be contacted via the following methods:
Email:
Powys.handtherapyservice@wales.nhs.uk
Telephone: 07766 474279 or 01874 615724 (During office hours on weekdays from Monday to Friday)
Address:
Meet the team:
The service is provided by Alison Brown, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist, who is passionate about the science and art of hand therapy. Alison is a member of the British Association of Hand Therapists (BAHT) and is currently studying to become an Accredited Hand Therapist. Alison works mainly in the south of Powys whilst providing a consultative role to both Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy colleagues across Powys.
Patient feedback:
We welcome any feedback you might have about your experience with the Hand Therapy Service at Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB).
You can access our feedback survey by clicking on the following link. Alternatively, you can scan the associated QR code image below with a smartphone / other device if you wish to complete the survey via a different device. This will take you to the same webpage location as the link.
Patient feedback survey link:
Patient Feedback – Powys Teaching Health Board Hand Therapy Service
Patient feedback survey QR code image: