FEATURE REHABILITATION
Developing vocational rehabilitation in rheum
While many teams have switched to the neighbourhoo
across the whole of the Highlands.
Victoria MacDonald is an advanced practice occup
Dingwall, but working across the whole health board. S
management by looking at behavioural change, and a
Delivering all of that across such a massive area ha
In vocational rehabilitation, that meant the developmen
practice and helping deliver a focus on early interventi
Validated outcome measures are emailed out to ne
workplaces. A semi-structured interview is then used i
physical demands of their jobs. They will then jointly id
them to identify potential solutions.
‘The feedback has been really positive,’ says Victor
themselves to develop their problem-solving skills.’
‘We did a skills
matrix to look at what
shared tasks existed within
the team, so that if a client
has several needs, they don’t
need several professionals
involved but just one to
provide that continuity
of care.
One man helped by Victoria was retu
’I couldn’t have visited his work an
She worked with him on th
and emotional demands of
appreciate that driving tw
The COVID-19 pand
calls or via Near Me vid
until face-to-face work
Making the most of
The Scottish trauma netw
established networks sout
health boards, and Julie Blad
the team working across the wh
The geography of the Highlands h
in repatriation of people to England and around the wo
Even for those who live inside the vast Highlands re
brain injury then they probably won’t be able to drive,
such a spread out area I can’t easily visit them,’ says J
Near Me video consultations were therefore already
not just with patients but also with staff who may requ
Even old-fashioned email has its uses, says Julie, a
orientation boards to people with cognitive issues who
Those supported by the team include a young man
wanted to get home to his family. ‘I saw him at home a
meals for his wife and wanted to get back to this, alon
‘We did a lot of work around his executive functioni
got to the point where he wanted to go back to work.
‘As he had his own business he didn’t have an emp
a tool to give him some strategies that he could use w
activities.’
While she says the work is really satisfying to delive
getting him driving again – Julie welcomes the investm
not only seen her post funded but will see more plann
‘It’s not just about money and finance, but also ups
goals in the community.’
18 OTnews June 2020