Background
Hand therapy at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) has traditionally required patients to attend either the Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy Department or both, depending on their presentation or assessed needs.

Problem
The current provision of hand therapy across the two departments has created some duplication and inconvenience to patients. In a health climate where there is growing demand for outpatient services, ambulatory reform continues to be a priority for SA Health. The provision of an efficient and patient-centred hand therapy service is vital.

Intervention
The new RAH is scheduled to open in 2016 and will have a single hand therapy space. This has provided the opportunity to develop a combined hand therapy unit staffed by both physiotherapists and occupational therapists, where both disciplines will be integrated to deliver an efficient and patient-centred service. To date, a literature search failed to find any reports of the process of developing a combined hand therapy unit.

Conclusion
The initial process of developing a combined hand therapy unit at the current RAH in readiness for the move to the new RAH will be presented.