Abstract
The use of occupational therapy in work rehabilitation has diminished over the last 20 years. Therapy resources have been diverted to the acute sector as a response to the pressure within National Health Service trusts to achieve early discharges. Occupational therapy in the United Kingdom has therefore suffered a loss of facilities and of therapists experienced in returning injured or ill employees to work. This contrasts with the development of occupational therapy in work rehabilitation abroad.
Occupational therapists, through their education and training, have the potential to develop the necessary skills to assess and treat injured employees to return them to work. There exists a significant number of employees at work and absent from work with musculoskeletal problems, who need the services of occupational therapists specialising in work rehabilitation.
The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the current status of work rehabilitation, to give an example of a therapist-led work rehabilitation intervention with a client and to demonstrate the unique role that occupational therapy played in assisting in the client's return to work.
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