Occupational Therapy News OTNews March 2020 | Page 15

FEATURE NEWS
Education and Improvement Wales to develop leadership skills,
but the need for leadership is not just about senior roles, says
Ruth.
‘I think this aligns with what [RCOT chief executive] Julia Scott
says about needing to shout loud and proud – that is not about
a managerial, hierarchical position, but about every single person
needing to be a leader.’
That will mean stepping outside of uniprofessional silos and
taking on multiprofessional roles like therapy leads and team
leads, without diluting professional focus or skill sets.
‘Thinking about how what you offer helps your chief executive
and director sleep at night is really important,’ she says. ‘We have
to start putting forward our important skills and the impact they
can have in a way that provides solutions to the problems that
health and social care organisations are facing.’
The last principle is about AHPs working to maximise their skills. much as possible as a normal way of being, rather than feeling we
have to do and own everything ourselves?
‘We are not an enormous resource, so let’s make sure those
skills are really used to best effect. We need to make sure that we
are always pushing to use our skills to the best effect.
‘That is what value-based care is all about, I think.’
The framework is now being presented to AHPs around
Wales through regional workshops, and two new leads are being
recruited, one to look at public health and one at rehabilitation,
reablement and recovery. They will join the recent appointee Kerrie
Phipps, who is leading on primary care (see OTnews December
2019, page 13).
But while there will be some new appointees to help deliver the
framework, Ruth is keen that it is read, understood and delivered
by every occupational therapist in Wales.
‘I want people to read it and rediscover what drew them into
become an AHP,’ she says.
‘What is it that excited you to do this? We are motivated to help
That will include delegating down, educating others and working
alongside what Ruth calls the ‘amazing’ support staff.
Says Ruth: ‘This is fundamental to how we deliver universal
services – how are we teaching, educating, supporting the wider
community and other parts of the workforce in order to do as people to live as well as possible, and what this tries to capture
is a route map of how we will make that happen and how we will
make the most of our skills. And that is true for every one of us.’
Read the new framework at: www.gov.wales/allied-health-
professions-ahp-framework.
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