Occupational Therapy News OTnews July 2019 | Page 7

NEWS
Length of stay cut in half by Welsh enhanced occupational therapy support team
Specialist teams of occupational therapists will
help cut the length of stays for patients at Glan
Clwyd Hospital in Denbighshire as a successful
trial programme is rolled out across all wards.
The new Home First project, which helps
patients return home from hospital once they
have finished their inpatient medical treatment,
builds on a five-week trial in a care of the elderly
ward. Length of stay during the trial was cut from
7.7 days to four days, with 26 per cent more
people discharged to their own home than usual.
Almost nine out of 10 inpatients at the hospital
regained the confidence and strength to return
The team at Glan Clwyd Hospital
home safely.
Occupational therapists will take responsibility for leading
Occupational therapist Jennifer Davies, who ran the initial pilot,
patients’ discharge by working closely with them, their families,
said: ‘Home First is all about recognising how our patients want to
and fellow healthcare and medical staff to ensure their needs
return back to their lives after a stay in hospital, and how we can help
are met. The work is helping cut lengths of stay, help patients
them achieve that.
to retain independence and prevent deconditioning.
‘Through early assessments of patients, working with them
Specialist teams of occupational therapists are now working
to set goals which will achieve their discharge, and leading care
in partnership with wards, patients and families to determine
meetings with hospital colleagues, we’ve seen real results in
what matters to the individual when planning for discharge
helping people recover once they are medically well enough to
home. If necessary, this will involve practising simple activities
leave hospital.
such as walking, getting washed and dressed and preparing
‘By addressing this issue, we’re freeing up resource and
food to regain skills and confidence.
improving flow through the hospital.’
HCPC joins regulators in promoting
reflective practice Inquiry on adult social care proposes
refocus on independence
The Health and Care Professions Council has joined forces
with other professional regulators to reaffirm the role of
reflection.
The regulators say the role of reflection in healthcare fosters
improvements in practices and services, and assures the
public that professionals are continually learning and seeking
to improve.
Dr Stephanie Tempest, RCOT professional development
manager, said: ‘The ability to analyse your practice and reflect
on what went well and what could be improved is a crucial
element of being an occupational therapist and is essential for
continuing professional development. This affirmation from the
nine healthcare regulators shows the pivotal role that reflection
has for us as occupational therapists and together in the
multi-disciplinary teams in which many of us work.
‘Becoming and being a reflective practitioner is a central
tenet within our profession. It’s incorporated into our pre-
registration standards, code of ethics and professional
conduct, professional standards and career development
framework. Our CPD resources encourage reflection to aid
learning within teams and as individuals.’
Read the joint statement at: www.bit.do/HCPC-reflective.
See RCOT’s full range of resources at www.rcot.co.uk/cpd. A cross-party parliamentary group on adult social care in England is
proposing that adult social care needs to focus on enabling people to live
more independently.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Adult Social Care, which only
launched this February, took evidence from 250 organisations and
individuals. The group also says that people regularly using adult social
care must be involved in co-design and co-production of adult social care
services. It is calling for a cross-party solution to the social care crisis.
Their report was released as criticism has grown on the delays to
the government’s green paper on adult social care. The Association
of Directors of Adult Social Services warned during June that tens of
thousands of older people and disabled people could be denied basic
support without rapid intervention, while the Lords’ Economic Affairs
Committee called for £8 billion to tackle what it called a ‘national scandal’.
The inquiry’s report includes Kent Enablement at Home Teams,
which includes occupational therapists to empower support staff to take
reasoned and insightful decisions and understand how to work with
people to create personalised goals. 83 per cent of people who use the
service go on to live independently at home. The APPG said it wanted to
see more locally-led initiatives to help facilitate independent leaving and
ease pressure on the NHS and ambulance services. The example was
featured in an RCOT’s Improving Lives, Saving Money report.
Read the inquiry’s report at: www.adultsocialcareappg.com/inquiry.
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