  1. Easter Treats for people with swallowing problems Catering for people with a swallowing problem at Easter can be tricky. It’s hard to know what treats you can give or even to remember many Easter treats are food. Here are some ideas: Pureed diet (smooth and uniform texture)
Minced and Moist diet: (needs to be very finely cut or mashed). All options suggested for a pureed diet plus:''
 Easy to Chew diet: (must be able to be easily and cleanly cut with the side of a fork) All of the options in “pureed” and “minced and moist” plus:
https://www.therapyprofessionals.co.nz/uploads/4/9/5/2/49523375/can_people_on_modified_diets_have_food_treats_.pdf 2. No Sunshine No Vitamin D Daylight saving is over and the days are getting shorter which reduces our ability to produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for:
To compensate for the lack of sunlight, find out what foods contain vitamin D by visiting our website’s information and handy hints page or follow this link: https://www.therapyprofessionals.co.nz/uploads/4/9/5/2/49523375/vitamin_d_and_the_winter_months__.pdf If you need help to improve your dietary intake of Vitamin D our friendly dietitian can help.  3. Enable Equipment We have therapists who are accredited assessors for Enable (government funded equipment. If you are waiting on Health NZ teams for your equipment needs. For the price of an assessment and doing an application we can help you access Enable equipment quicker than waiting on the public waiting list. Repairs and Maintenance Keep this information by your phone First identify if it’s Enable equipment, there should be a label like this Contact one of the subcontractors listed below: More Mobility/ Mobytech Ltd 113 Blenheim Road, Christchurch 8041 Phone: 0800 662 983, (03) 348 3460 Option 3 or 027 516 2340 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.moremobility.co.nz Mobility Services Ltd (Wheelchair Services (SI) Ltd) (not generally a mobile service) 29 Shakespeare Road, Christchurch 8240 Phone: 03) 366 8815 or 0275 383 584 Email: [email protected] Website www.mobilitysystems.co.nz ' Rehab Enterprises, mobile workshop. Contact Owen Henwood on Phone: 027 230 5974 or email: [email protected] Total equipment services Ltd. Phone 03 423 3574. Email: [email protected] Alteration or Modification of Equipment If you wish to have a piece of equipment altered or modified this is not a repair or maintenance. Call the therapist. Re-allocating Equipment You may have some equipment you are using for more than one resident e.g. a hoist which is allocated to one resident. If the resident allocated to the equipment no longer requires it, the equipment can be reallocated to another resident by the occupational therapist. Please discuss this with the Therapist. Returning Enable equipment Phone 0800 ENABLE (0800 362 253), Mondays to Fridays from 8am to 5pm. Or follow this link to email https://www.enable.co.nz/tools-resources/return-repair-equipment  Enable funded Wheelchairs - Ex- Templeton clients Health NZ community teams are contracted to provide level 1 and level 2 Wheeled Mobility and Postural Management for the ex-Templeton clients. However if you wish to get a wheelchair quicker you can pay Therapy professionals to do an application. For those who aren’t eligible for an Enable funded wheelchairs you can contract Therapy Professionals to do the assessment and source a chair you would need to pay for. Note if you privately purchase a chair it is your responsibility to do and pay for any maintenance or repairs. 4. Restrictive equipment Some of the equipment prescribed by Occupational and Physiotherapists can be considered a restraint under some circumstances. To help decide whether a piece of restrictive equipment is a restraint or not follow this chart  We have updated our Enabler Recommendations form to better reflect Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Service standards on restraints. It will give the clinical rational, list the circumstances the equipment is prescribed for and any possible adverse effects of the equipment’s use. If the equipment is used outside the therapists consented recommended use it is considered a restraint and you will need to follow your restraints policy. If equipment already prescribed by a Therapist could be considered a restraint please contact the Therapist.  5. Skin injuries caused by pressure For those of us caring for people who barely move or rely on others to move them, it is important to know how to best look after their skin. Pressure injuries, otherwise known as pressure areas, ulcers or bedsores, are among the negative effects of immobility. What is a pressure injury? A pressure injury is damage to an area of skin, usually around a bony part of the body, which has been under pressure for some time. The pressure stops the blood flow feeding the skin in that area, if the pressure is not removed the skin will break down and eventually become an ulcer. Friction from chaffing, or rubbing over these bony areas can also cause sores and ulcers. For more information visit our website’s information and handy hints page or follow this link. https://www.therapyprofessionals.co.nz/uploads/4/9/5/2/49523375/skin_injuries_caused_by_pressure.pdf Pressure injuries are a risk for frail and immobile people in care. Prevention is always the aim but unfortunately pressure injuries still occur. Our therapists can help with education and managing current or recurring pressure injuries by giving advice on:
Our friendly Physio, Occupational Therapists and Dietitians can help. Just contact Therapy Professionals on phone: 03 377 5280 or Email: [email protected]. Have a happy and safe Easter from the team at Therapy Professionals  Comments are closed.
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AuthorShonagh O'Hagan Archives
November 2025
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