Who we are

Name: Denise Eadie

Job Title:Occupational Therapy Lead in Mental HealthClinical Specialist in neurology

Department: Occupational Therapy

  1. Who am I?

I am a 29 year old female, mother of a 2 1/2 year old with another child due in February! I enjoy socialising, listening to live music and also lazy days!

  1. What do I do? Describe your role?

I am in a fortunate position where I work both within physical and mental health settings.

I am a clinical specialist within Neurology working as a lone practitioner. I see people in and around Inverness who have any type of neurological disorder. These are people who have had a head injury or stroke andindividuals who have multiple sclerosis.

My role requires me to liaise with different members of the Multidisciplinary Team including the neurologist, Consultant in Rehabilitation, Specialist Multiple Sclerosis nurses and Physiotherapist as well as various community resources such as the Job Centre and MS therapy Centre. I work alongside individuals with these long-term conditions to help them better manage their heath in their own environments.

I have also recently taken up post as Occupational Therapy Lead in Mental Health, with a remit of managing the wider Highland occupational therapy team within a job share post. I also have a special interest in Personality Disorder which has led me to complete training in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy and co-ordinate an exciting new day service for people with personality disorder, in conjunction with those who have lived experience of the condition.

  1. Why is this role important?

My role as clinical specialist in neurology helps to provide a service to those people who struggle with the demands of living with a long-term condition. Working with out-patients allows me to offer support such as fatigue management for people with MS, return to work advice for people who have had a head injury or stroke and ultimately facilitate people to live as independently as possible in their own environments. If this service wasn’t available I fear these individuals would be left isolated in the community or worse – only seen if they were in crisis and required hospital admission. I hope my post creates a pro-active service to help prevent unnecessary admissions.

My special interest in Personality Disorder has led me to work with a fantastic group of volunteers who are dedicating their time to help form services for others who have similar experiences. It’s an exciting time within the NHS to work in such a different way by developing services entirely alongside those who use these services.

I think my roles demonstrate the diverse roles an occupational therapist has to offer and the opportunities that are available for those who want to take them.

  1. Most challenging part of my job?

Being able to juggle to very different roles and getting to know my new role as OT Lead in Mental Health. I am very much developing as a manager which is a very steep learning curve!

Working with individuals who can go through very difficult times sometimes posing a significant risk to themselves.

Working with individuals with long-term progressive conditions because as a healthcare practitioner I aim to help people get better but with some it is about making the best out of a situation which is outwith everyone’s control.

  1. Most interesting part of my job?

All the different people I get to meet and being able to take new ideas forward and hopefully make changes for the better. What’s great about being an OT is the diversity and transferrable skills means that you could work in a variety of different settings and really work with individuals on a personal level to help them achieve what’s most important to them.

  1. What qualifications do I need?

BSc Hons Occupational Therapy although there are OT assistant and technical instructor posts which allow unqualified staff to work as part of an occupational therapy team

  1. Who do I get in touch with if I want to find out more?

College of Occupational Therapists

Scottish Universities – Robert Gordon University, Queen Margaret And Glasgow Caledonian