Occupational Therapy News OTnews February 2019_Joomag | Page 3

A
number of major, practical changes to the NHS in England has
been set out by the government in the recently-published NHS
Long-Term Plan, which sets out how the £20.5 billion budget
settlement for the NHS, announced by the Prime Minister in summer
2018, will be spent over the next five years (www.longtermplan.nhs.uk)
and offers a 10-year vison for a service that is ‘fit for the future’.
A key focus of the plan is personalised care and for people to get more
control over their own health when they need it (www.england.nhs.uk/
personalisedcare/what-is-personalised-care/). However, it is crucial to
clarify that while the NHS Long-Term Plan itself in an England only policy
editor’s
comment
document, the personalised care agenda is UK-wide and gaining traction in all four countries.
With this in mind, on pages 12 to 13, Andrew Mickel, OTnews journalist, analyses how personal care
is threaded through the document and outlines the six key long-term plan points for occupational
therapists – refocusing on the community, social prescribing, reducing A&E pressures, digital projects
and workforce – all current action points for RCOT.
Then, on page 14, he takes a wider look at the policy agenda for personalised care in this issue’s
cover feature, by asking: What does it mean in practice? From conversations with occupational
therapists working on the frontline, he digs a bit deeper to see how they have found ways to translate the
personalised care agenda into practical services.
Another focus this month is leadership and management. On page 18, Rachel Yona talks about how
important it is for senior managers to encourage, trust and nurture more junior staff to aspire to new
roles.
Reflecting on her own journey, she explains how embracing a new role as clinical lead for occupational
therapy opened up an opportunity to ‘move into the unknown,’ taking up ‘an exciting and unique’ offer to
initiate the creation of a new psychiatry liaison team.
Also on the topic of future leaders, a group of occupational therapy students reflect on their personal
experiences of being selected for the Council of Deans Student Leadership Programme. Through
training, networking and mentoring, the group say that they were encouraged to see themselves as
leaders, whatever their level or position, to embrace their unique qualities, and were charged to take
positive risks in order to rise to challenges. Turn to page 20 to read more.
Other features this month focus on improving health outcomes for people with long-term conditions,
through a new two-year model of care project in Leeds (page 24), staff endeavours at Guy’s and St
Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to put occupation back at the heart of their practice (page 26), and the
development of intermediate care in Redcar and Cleveland, through partnership working between the
local council, health services and a privately-run care home (page 30). We hope you enjoy the issue.
Tracey Samuels, Editor
If you have any feedback about this issue of OTnews, or
would like to contribute a short article or feature for a future
publication, please email me at: [e-mail]