Occupational Therapy News OTnews February 2019_Joomag | Seite 19

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ON
M
y journey into management began with trust. Many
years ago as a new senior occupational therapist
in a day hospital, I found myself without a manager.
Whilst the recruitment process began, my clinical
supervisor planted a seed in my mind about applying for the role,
and I am forever grateful that I was given a direction I had not
considered before.
The encouragement we give and the trust we place in staff to
aspire to try new roles, and nurture their skills, is something that
as a manager I hold important.
Following a career break, I embraced a new role as clinical lead
for occupational therapy in the eating disorders unit, learning a
new clinical skill and applying it through the vision of occupational
therapy, supporting the service users to develop independence
and enhancing self-management skills through social eating,
shopping and preparing their own food.
Being a clinical lead developed a different set of
management skills, embedding
‘‘
It was vital to have staff engagement and to recognise that,
working within the NHS, staff can suffer from change fatigue.
Using my knowledge of models of change, I had an improved
ability to understand how staff were reacting to and providing
input into the collaboration, and to engage them in individualised
ways to bring them into the process and the journey.
Being able to engage people, understand what motivates
them, and what holds them back from achieving their goals, is
fundamental to the work of an occupational therapist.
I find by using my core occupational therapy skills, looking at
the services in a holistic manner and breaking down barriers
between services for improved cooperation, means that we are
able to maintain keeping the patient needs at the heart of our
services, enabling staff to enable patients and improve
outcomes.
Likening my role as a senior manager to Gary Kielhofner’s
Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) supports me to consider
the interaction between peoples’ volition, habituation,
clinical practice and leading change
environment and performance skills. Balancing
in ways of working.
these areas set out in MOHO brings improved
The
encouragement
Stepping outside of one’s
performance and outcomes.
comfort zone supports personal
There are always challenges in the NHS,
we give and the trust we
development; moving into the
and there will be ongoing changes. The
place in staff to aspire to
unknown, I received an exciting and
challenge for all staff is to be resilient
try new roles, and nurture
unique offer to initiate the creation of
and engaged in the process. With their
a new psychiatry liaison team, which
skills, occupational therapists are well
their skills, is something
received accreditation from the Royal
placed to develop a resilient and engaged
that as a manager I
College of Psychiatry within the first two
workforce.
hold important.
years.
I firmly believe that my core occupational
This was a wonderful opportunity to hold
therapy skills have enhanced my work with
and share widely the values of occupational
management and I am thankful for the freedom to
therapy – holistic care, looking after people’s mental
be able to utilise them in such a privileged role.
and physical health, and together viewing the person as a whole
As a profession we have so much to offer, clinically and
to improve their recovery.
managerially. I hope that this inspires other occupational therapists
Moving into service management, I was asked if being an
to trust in their skills, and to recognise that our core skills are
occupational therapist was a disadvantage. I believe the opposite
highly transferrable.
to be true.
On a personal level, I am about to have a break from the NHS
The Royal College of Occupational Therapists describe
and move abroad with my family. I know that the experiences I
occupational therapy as taking a ‘whole-person approach’ to both
have had and the transferable skills I have been trained in and
mental and physical health, addressing holistic wellbeing to enable
have developed will be an advantage in finding a new path.
individuals to achieve their full potential.
To those who I have had the privilege to work with, I say thank
The vision of the mental health trust I work in is based on an
you. I recognise that our collaborative work and drive to place
enablement model – supporting our service users to ‘live, love and
our service users at the forefront makes for a special working
do’, which reflects the objectives of our profession.
relationship and a service that strives for excellence, even under
As a service manager, responsible for eight services,
challenging circumstances.
approximately 150 staff and covering a London borough with
Wherever our next paths and opportunities lie, I wish you all the
a population of around 312,000, I have the chance to develop
best and am sure that your personal and professional skills will be
services to work within the trust’s enablement model.
an advantage in all you choose to do.
As an occupational therapist this is a natural fit. In the last 18
months, I have led a whole borough redesign of our community-
Rachel Yona, Enfield Adult Mental Health Community Services
based services. Having my occupational therapy skills has
Manager, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust.
enhanced my ability to engage staff and work with all our
Twitter: @BEHMHTNHS, Facebook: www.fb.com/behmht or
stakeholders in developing the vision into reality.
email: [e-mail]
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