Sarah Marsh

I started Empower Occupational Therapy services alongside a colleague in April 2024. We started independent practice to allow ourselves more autonomy and flexibility and targeting our services to families, school settings and local authorities.

We have established a good foundation with excellent testimonials from families we have worked with so far.

Within the company I have taken a lead on advertising the business, setting up social media campaigns, website design and contacting schools and local authorities directly to increase referrals and income. We have recently succeeded in a Tendor for Adopt South, one of the largest charities in the South region to support families through the adoption process.

Referrals have varied in working with families and young people, delivering Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), property recommendations, ongoing school sessions and sensory, physical and motor co-ordination assessments.

I have been the designated safeguarding lead at the hospital since 2022. I have led the team of safeguarding leads for this time alongside my role as Therapy Lead. I am involved in complex safeguarding, safeguarding patients throughout their time with us. and on discharge back home. I am actively involved in safeguarding audits, reporting, liaising with the local authorities, police and Care Quality Commissioners. I have delivered safeguarding training to the hospital staff to ensure we have a good knowledge and understanding of upwards reporting and protecting our patients.

In 2023 I received the regional safeguarding lead award for the work I have carried out for safeguarding in the hospital. It is something I feel very passionately about.

I took over the Therapy Lead position in 2022. This involved managing the overarching therapy team for the hospital, including; Social work, Psychology,Dietetics, fitness and OT. I have managed the therapeutic interventions carried out across the service ensuring we are delivering holistic, evidence based practice across all disciplines and to all 3 wards.

I currently manage all annual leave, payroll systems and am involved in every step of the recruitment process.

I sit within the senior management team at the hospital, this has provided me with opportunities to look at service delivery through audits, quality improvement projects and recently driven patient engagement and collaboration across the hospital.

I am passionate and driven to strive to improve services, but my main purpose is to improve the therapeutic intervention and experience of our patients at the hospital. I have led working groups for Priory OTs around vocational roles and taken a lead for the falls pathway which has been developed into a working document and rolled out to other hospitals. The vocational roles work has developed into a shop and an allotment on site to engage our patients in purposeful, meaningful job opportunities and to gain confidence and increase skills ready for discharge.

I have also designed and created a sensory room on the eating disorder ward for patients to utilise and use to self regulate. I have just had the second sensory room approved for the two adult acute wards which will provide a calm space for patients to access throughout their admission.

Throughout my time as an Occupational Therapist at Priory Healthcare I have worked across the Specialist Eating Disorder unit, Adult Acute inpatient ward sand Child and Adolescent Mental Health ward (CAMHs). I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working across the hospital and gained invaluable skills that have developed and improved my skill set.

I have confidently facilitated group therapy sessions, enhanced social interaction amongst patients. Developed group programmes, such as body image and life skills, a nutrition based social eating group for our eating disorder patients.

I have run Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) skills, emotional coping skills, vocational roles, sensory sessions and creative based well being groups across our adult acute inpatient wards, SEDU and Child Adolescent mental health CAHMs wards.

I have conducted thorough patient assessments which informed effective treatment plans, safe discharge planning and an enhanced recovery journey in hospital.

I worked at Peartree House for 9 years, I was part of the OT team and worked here part time throughout my studies at university.

Peartree House is a brain injury rehabilitation unit, they specialise in rehabilitation and recovery for patients who have experienced a post traumatic brain injury or stroke.

I delivered upper limb programmes, kitchen assessments, morning programmes and was devoted to teaching and increasing skills for my patients to live a more independent life. This may be to communicate more effectively, increase movement in contractures or help them to regain vocational skills and activities of daily living.