Mental Health
Professional Links
Government / Health / Legislation
Specialist organisations
Physical Health
Gateways
Other useful links
Professional Links
College of Occupational Therapists www.cot.org.uk
The British Association/College of Occupational Therapists is the professional body for occupational therapy staff in the UK.
Health Professions Council www.hpc-uk.org
Regulating body which aims to protect the health and wellbeing of people who use the seervices of the health professionals registered with the Council.
World Federation of Occupational Therapists www.wfot.org
The key international representative for Occupational therapists and Occupational Therapy around the world and the offical international organisation for the promotion of Occupational Therapy.
Government / Health / Legislation
Department of Health www.dh.gov.uk
Information on Department of Health (UK) work and access to publications and policy documents, including:
- National Service Framework for Older People
- A New Ambition
- Dignity in Care
- Health Promotion
- Reforming Emergency Care
The Later Life Specialist Library www.library.nhs.uk/laterlife/
The Later Life Specialist Library is a part of the National Library for Health. It is an online library, which aims to provide quick access to key documents and evidence for health and social care professionals and 'expert' patients looking for high-quality, reliable information. The site contains the best available evidence to support people making decisions about all aspects of later life. It is supported by the NHS and is freely available to all UK health and social care professionals.
Specialist organisations
Age Concern www.ageconcern.org.uk
Aim to promote the well-being of older people and to help make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience.
British Geriatrics Society www.bgs.org.uk
A specialist medical association of doctors practicing geriatric medicine. Site makes available information for members, carers, and organisations who might have an interest in geriatric medicine /geronotology or the care of the older person.
Help The Aged www.helptheaged.org.uk
Help the Aged is a charity working to ensure that the rights of older people everywhere are secured. Working with them, we identify the needs and champion the issues that help better their lives.
National Coalition for Active Ageing www.helptheaged.org.uk
NCAA was formed to promote physical activity with older people of all interests, abilities and ages to increase their health and standard of living in older age. The Coalition is currently co-ordinated by Help the Aged.
National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA) www.napa-activities.net
A membership organisation providing advice and information and support to activity providers in a range of settings for older people.
Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity www.sparc.ac.uk
"SPARC brings together researchers, practitioners and policy makers in ageing. It specialises in communicating the latest design, engineering and biological ageing-related research to all stakeholders, making the case about the benefits for an ageing population of scientific research, and it encourages newcomers into ageing research. Its activities are especially relevant to the work of Occupational Therapists."
Physical Health
National Osteoporosis Society www.nos.org.uk
The National Osteoporosis Society is the only national charity dedicated to improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of this fragile bone disease.
Parkinson's Disease Society www.parkinsons.org.uk
The Parkinson’s Disease Society is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to helping people affected by Parkinson’s. It campaigns for a better quality of life for people with Parkinson’s, funds research and provides practical help, support and information.
The Stroke Association www.stroke.org.uk
The only national charity solely concerned with combating stroke in people of all ages. It funds research into prevention, treatment and better methods of rehabilitation, helps stroke patients and their families directly through community services funded in some local areas, can also supply a variety of publications on stroke and has a national helpline offering information and support.
Gateways
Bandolier www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolie'Evidence based thinking about health care'.
National Library for Health www.library.nhs.uk/Default.aspx
The National Library for Health (NLH) aims to be the best health library and information service in the world.
INTUTE www.intute.ac.uk/healthandlifesciences
Free searchable catalogue of internet sites and resources covering health and life sciences.
OT Seeker www.otseeker.com
A database that contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy.
PubMed www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Medical journals with links to publisher websites.
Other useful links
AGILE www.agile-uk.org
Clinical Interest Group of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and is for therapists working with older people - whether qualified physiotherapists, assistants, students or associate members of an allied profession.
Mental Health
Alzheimer's Society www.alzheimers.org.uk
UK’s leading care and research charity for people with dementia, their families and carers.
Dementia Services Development Centres (DSDC) www.dementia.stir.ac.uk
DSDC exists to extend and improve services for people with dementia and their carers. In particular, it provides information about all aspects of dementia from an extensive library, provides training for doctors, nurses and all those working in dementia care.
London Centre for Dementia Care www.ucl.ac.uk/dementia
The London Centre for Dementia Care represents an imaginative partnership between University College London and representatives of statutory and voluntary organisations and carers and has the goal of improving dementia care in London
Mental Health Foundation www.mentalhealth.org.uk
The website of the Mental Health Foundation outlines the charity’s work in research, policy, service development and service user involvement. The site offers information and publications to download on research, good practice in services and on mental health problems and key issues.
