Occupational Therapists struggle to get professional status

Association seeks State council to register practitioners

While Occupational Therapists play an important role in helping patients regain their routine after injury or illness, there are little opportunities and awareness about the profession or the treatment in the State.

To begin with, there is no State council that registers an Occupational Therapist. However, the State employs them, though in very limited numbers. There are 11-12 posts altogether in four medical colleges and three mental health institutes where applications are called through the Public Service Commission.

However, those interested in making a career in Occupational Therapy (OT) have to go to other States or abroad. This is in spite of the fact that Occupational Therapy has become very much a part of modern medical treatment. There is shortage of hands as there are only 150-odd therapists working in the State.

Joseph Sunny, president of the Kerala branch of the All India Occupational Therapy Association, told

The Hindu that they had given a memorandum to the Health Minister in the recent public hearing sought for the Clinical Establishment Bill. Since there is no regulatory council for the Occupational Therapists, there are no parameters or guidelines that can be brought about in the Bill. Hence, the request is to bring about a State council for the OTs.

There is no college teaching the therapy in the State. Most other States have already formed councils or are in the process of forming one, but no measures have been taken here yet, Mr. Sunny says.

Starting from children who have difficulty in achieving their developmental milestones such as fine motor skills and hand-to-eye coordination, Occupational Therapists also play a major role in helping the elderly regain and enhance their daily routines after surgeries like hip replacement or recovering from strokes.

The specialists would help patients create an environment at home that helps improve their safety and dependency on others and help them use equipment to assist various functions.

Even as medical professionals seek and recognise the need for occupational therapists in bringing about the desired changes in the management of a patient, these therapists find their valuable work in patient care usurped by people with little qualification or people with other qualifications masquerading as Occupational Therapists. This is because there is no council that can provide guidelines on the qualifications of the Occupational Therapist, Mr. Sunny says.