Maternity launches occupational therapy service
The Maternity Hospital on Sunday launched an occupational therapy service (a supporting medical specialty that contributes to the rehabilitation of the patient) for premature babies and newborns, for the first time in intensive care units and specialized departments. Hospital Director Dr Ammar Al-Fadhli said: “The hospital is the first to provide this special service to children, which will clearly contribute to the course of the treatment plan and facilitate discharge from the hospital. Understanding the patient’s needs will be part of a treatment program designed according to their health problems.”
Director of Natural Medicine Department Tamadhur Al-Saeed expressed her happiness that the hospital is considered a pioneer in this clinical goal by providing this service with national staff. “The provision of medical services is in its most successful form when medical departments hasten to cooperate, because of its impact on the patient’s health. The department of physiotherapy seeks to build bridges of cooperation with the departments of premature babies, occupational therapy, nursing, speech and swallowing difficulties, to provide better health for children,” Saeed said.
Mohammed Al-Mutairi, head of the occupational therapy section at the natural medicine and rehabilitation hospital, considered the service to be the result of lengthy work and continuous success. “Occupational therapy is one of the medical specialties that contribute to the treatment or rehabilitation of the patient to restore the capabilities they lost due to an injury or when learning new skills for children.
It is a holistic specialty that includes the evaluation and treatment of the patient’s physical, mental and psychological skills within the environment in which he lives,” he said. “The exact specializations that need an occupational therapist is the specialty of premature babies, as they have many requirements if there is difficulty in swallowing, disturbed sleep or other therapeutic services.”