Occupational Therapy News OTnews January 2019 | Page 55

Other achievements
Northern Ireland
We had face-to-face meetings with two Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), two MLAs went out to visit
an occupational therapy service, and 20 MLAs attended an event in November (see page 9).
We were at the Northern Ireland Awards and Conference for Allied Health Professionals and Healthcare
Scientists, met with the Department of Education and were involved in the first meeting to look at a new mental
health five-year plan.
We also attended the DUP conference, where occupational therapy was mentioned in a ‘Modernising health and
care’ presentation, as a direct result of an RCOT arranged service visit by an MLA.
Scotland
In Scotland, we met with 82 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) over the year, which includes 10 individual
meetings with cabinet secretaries, committee convenors and party representatives with responsibilities for health,
mental health, sport and justice. We ran two successful events: in May, as part of the ILSM campaign, (see page 7)
and November for Occupational Therapy Week (see page 9).
Of particular note, we met with Willie Rennie MSP, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who also followed
up with a site visit to the Fife Vocational Rehab (IPS) service, and Margaret Mitchell MSP, Convener of the Justice
Committee, Scottish Parliament. This meeting was followed up with a service visit to a GP pilot in NHS Lanarkshire.
Wales
In Wales, the new policy officer has developed links with Assembly Members, the Welsh Government and stake-
holders to raise the profile of the profession. RCOT has given evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee
on the autism bill and the suicide bill, met with stakeholders around primary care, met the chief executive of
Social Care Wales and key health and social care representatives from a range of political parties.
Continuing work
Health and Work Champions project
The joint RCOT and Public Health England Health and Work Champions project has moved to a ‘train the trainer’
model, enabling current champions to train local recruits. Over a three-month period, 570 health professionals
attended training, with 90 per cent feeling more likely to discuss work with their service users as a result.
Collaborative working – innovative areas of practice
Following on from the publication of our Fire and Rescue Service and Prisons reports, we jointly held two
networking events – the first with the National Fire Chiefs Council, to discuss working with vulnerable people
within communities to address public health issues and fire safety; the second event with the Ministry of Justice,
NHS England and the Care and Justice Network (ADASS), to discuss how to better engage vulnerable people
within the criminal justice system with vocational, rehabilitation and resettlement services.
Primary Care
We met with key stakeholders in all four UK nations to raise the profile of the profession in primary care and to
encourage the use of a first contact practitioner model. This has been positively received by the RCGP, NHS Eng-
land, the PHA in Northern Ireland and both the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
Education and learning
In the summer, we approved the first ever Integrated Masters (IM) occupational therapy degree programme
in the UK, at Robert Gordon’s University. We visited over 20 universities to deliver accreditation services. The
creation of new programmes and the removal of commissioned places in England also led to a rise of over 100
student places.
New HEIs to provide occupational therapy pathways
The University of Central Lancashire, University of Lincoln and Edinburgh Napier University received support from RCOT this
year to write and prepare occupational therapy programmes , ready for delivery in 2019/20. We also accredited the first
degree-level apprenticeship at Sheffield Hallam University, ready for delivery when final approval has been received from
the Institute for Apprenticeships. Two more universities are also hoping to deliver apprenticeships in 2019.
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