Our Therapy Service comprises a Child Development Service, Social Work Service, Physiotherapy Service, Occupational Therapy Service, Dietitics Service and Speech Language Therapy Service.

Child Development Service

Our Child Development Service is a therapy-based service providing assessment and therapy services to babies, children and adolescents (birth to 16 years) with developmental or ongoing disability needs.

Referrals come from many sources including paediatricians, GPs and other professionals such as Plunket and iwi providers involved with a child’s healthcare.

Who makes up the WDHB’s Child Development Service team?
Our team is comprised of Allied Health professionals working using a multi-disciplinary approach. Children referred may be seen by only one team member or by several, depending on the identified needs.

The WDHB’s Child Development Services team includes:

Visiting Neuro-developmental Therapists
Neuro-developmental therapists are registered occupational therapists or physiotherapists who focus on the assessment of a baby’s muscles and movements and how this impacts on the baby’s achievement of developmental skills. Our therapists are able to provide caregivers with the skills to encourage normal development and provide therapy recommendations to promote learning, skills and independence in tasks used on a daily basis. Neuro-developmental therapists visit patients at home and develop a home programme for parents or caregivers to follow and they also help to maximise everyday opportunities for learning.

Speech Language Therapist

WDHB Speech Language Therapists (SLT) can assess and treat children with feeding and swallowing issues.  The main aim of the intervention is to ensure your child receives adequate nutrition safely. WDHB SLTs also provide early intervention for children under the age of 2 with communication difficulties.  For children over 2 years old, communication issues are managed by the Ministry of Education.

Psychologist
Our psychologist work with and support children, their families and staff to develop and implement strategies to manage behavioural concerns and the impact of physical disability. They undertake assessments which help to develop therapy and strategy plans. They work closely with the whole child development service team by sharing interventions.

Occupational Therapist

Phone: 06 348 1286 

Hours of work: Monday – Friday 8am to 4.30pm

Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Therapy Assistants assist people of all ages who are experiencing practical problems associated with living with physical and/or mental illness, injury, or disability. They help them to learn skills that will enable them to lead independent and satisfying lives. Our OTs assist patients' recovery across a range of hospital and community-based services.

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is a health profession concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation. In occupational therapy an ‘occupation’ is defined as everything people do to occupy themselves from self-care to leisure and community involvement.

Who can benefit from seeing an Occupational Therapist?

People who have physical, emotional, social and developmental disabilities can benefit from seeing an OT.

These include people with, but is not limited to:

• Neurological disorders - strokes, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s disease
• Arthritis
• Congenital disorders
• Intellectual disabilities
• Orthopaedic conditions
• Surgical procedures

Our community-based therapists provide occupational performance assessments in clients homes. Interventions can include teaching new ways to carry out daily living activities, housing alterations, adaptive equipment, and education about living with chronic illness.

We have an in-house wheelchair and seating service with specialist therapists who are able to access further support from Enable outreach as required.

Our adult service accepts clients 16 years and above and the Child Development Service accepts referrals 15 years of age and younger.

Referral information
A referral to see an Occupational Therapist is required from another health professional involved in the person’s care e.g. doctor, nurse, physiotherapist, psychologist, social worker, speech-language therapist, etc.

Whanganui Hospital Loans Department provide short-term loan of equipment including wheelchairs as prescribed by the hospital Occupational Therapy Department.

Physiotherapist
Our physiotherapists provide physical skill assessments for children aged 2 to 16 years old. Follow up therapy is dependent on the needs identified from the assessment. Our physiotherapists also provide therapy programmes for children who have undergone surgery which impacts upon their mobility.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Coordinator
Our autism spectrum disorder coordinator helps with the assessment process for all autism spectrum disorder referrals. Our coordinator does this by gathering additional relevant information required for the purposes of the assessment. Our coordinator also provides support information to families as well as linking them to relevant community resources for services prior and after diagnosis.

Referral information
A child can be referred to the Child Development Service by a range of health professionals, including paediatricians, GPs and other professionals such as Plunket and iwi providers, involved in the child’s healthcare.

Speech Language Therapy Services

What is Speech and Language Therapy?

Phone: 06 348 3465
Hours: Monday to Friday 8am to 4.30pm

What is Speech and Language Therapy?

Speech and Language Therapy involves the diagnosis, treatment, and management of speech, language, and swallowing problems. Our speech language therapists are qualified health professionals who work with adults who have communication disorders and/or difficulty feeding or swallowing. Communication disorders can involve impairments of one or more communication modalities including speech, writing, reading, and understanding.

Our speech language therapists provide:

• assessment and identification of problems
• direct therapy and development of treatment goals
• information, advice and support to clients, carers, family and whanau
• multi-disciplinary casework management with other clinical staff
• liaison with community organisations.

Referral information
Referrals to access this service are made by a GP or by another health professional involved in a person’s care. If you require an appointment with the Speech and Language Therapist, please ask your GP to write a referral to the service. Referrals are triaged based on priority/urgency of patient need.

Occupational Therapy Services

Our occupational therapists and assistants work with people of all ages who are experiencing practical problems associated with living with physical and/or mental illness, injury or disability.

The WDHB's Occupational Therapy Service provides services to adult inpatients with arthritis, stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, as well as patients who have recently had orthopaedic or other surgical procedures. This also includes service delivery in the Emergency Department and Children's Ward, as required.

Community-based occupational therapists provide occupational performance assessments in client’s homes. Intervention can include teaching new ways to carry out daily living activities, housing alterations, adaptive equipment and education about living with a chronic illness. Clients are accepted to the service if they are over 18 years of age, have a disability lasting for a minimum of six months, or ACC acceptance for the first six weeks only. We assess seating with input from the wheelchair and seating clinician from the Enable NZ Outreach Service.

Referral information
A referral to see an occupational therapist is required from another health professional involved in the person’s care e.g. doctor, nurse, physiotherapist, psychologist, social worker, speech-language therapist, etc.



Clinical Dietician Services

Phone: 06 3483310
Hours: Monday- Friday 8am-4.30pm

We have a small team of clinical dietitians who work with people in our community from paediatrics through to the elderly.

Clinical dietitians are uniquely qualified in medical nutrition therapy who work to improve the nutritional health of individuals and communities through targeted programmes and interventions. We provide services to patients who require assessment, nutrition intervention and education within the region. We like to work closely with individuals and their Whanau to meet their needs and improve their overall health outcomes. Service areas include inpatient wards, outpatient clinics and community.

Services we provide include, but are not limited to;

• Malnutrition
• Oncology
• IBD/IBS and low FODMAP diet
• Diabetes across the lifespan
• Enteral Nutrition
• Disordered Eating
• Paediatrics
• Weight management and other long term chronic health conditions e.g. high cholesterol and high blood pressure
• Gut and intestinal health

Referral information
Referrals to access this service are made by a GP or by another health professional involved in a person’s care. If you require an appointment with the dietician, please ask your GP to write a referral to the service. Referrals are triaged based on priority/urgency of patient need and booked with the appropriate dietitian.





Social Work

Hours: Monday to Friday 8am to 4.30pm

Social Work is a profession that promotes social change and development, unity, and the empowerment of people. The Social Work team will work alongside yourself and your whānau/family as an inpatient, or in your home, to assess your health and disability needs, and support you to reach your goals.

Health Social Workers can help you and your whānau/family to be safe in your environment, to be empowered to make your own decisions, and to manage the personal and social effects of life changes due to ill health and/or disability.

Our Social Workers provide:

• Psycho-social assessment and intervention
• Risk assessment and safety planning
• Response to trauma or crisis, emotional support and coping strategies
• Interventions to protect vulnerable people
• Complex problem solving
• Support during long-term illness and repeat admissions
• Socio-legal issues and ethical decision making
• Advocacy in relation to social inequity or stigma
• Pregnancy counselling, all options explored
• Grief and loss intervention and support
• Health promotion, preventative planning and early intervention
• Providing information on/referral to community agencies and health providers
• Work as part of the multi-disciplinary team supporting discharge planning

Referral Information:

With the consent of yourself, referrals to the Social Work service can be made by health professionals, community agencies, your whānau, or you can self refer.

Referrals can be sent to referral.centre@wdhb.org.nz