Occupational Therapy News OTNews March 2020 | Page 17

HEALTH AND WELLBEING FEATURE
Paula says that there is a shift in some areas for visits to be
less about an environmental checklist, and more about a person-
centred fire risk assessment.
But the experience of those seconded to fire services has
shown that finding a way to make these new concepts useable
for the audience is important. Rather than leading on the intrinsic
value of health, it can help to talk about how health supports fire
safety and reduces fire risk.
Sarah Addy, an occupational therapist seconded to the
persons at risk team at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue since
2017, says: ‘Always come back to fire safety. When we’re looking
at falls or mobility and ask whether this person can transfer from
their chair and get out of the property in the case of a fire, you
straight away have the buy-in from the fire service because they
can see what it means to them and how it applies.’
Similarly, the National Fire Chiefs
Council has started to use a version of
the person-environment-occupation Visits also offer a way to identify unmet need in the community.
Over 1,200 visits were completed during the course of the
Fire Safe and Well pilot in London, with 175 people referred
for support with falls prevention, 139 for social isolation, 35 for
smoking cessation and 456 for fuel poverty.
But health and care services can be difficult to navigate, and the
fire and rescue service benefit from support to develop links with
organisations in their area.
Says Lauren: ‘The fire service is fantastic at getting through
people’s front doors in situations where occupational therapists
or other health professionals might struggle. People really trust
them so they are ideally placed to have conversations that identify
needs that may not otherwise be met.
‘I know I’ve spoken to fire brigade colleagues who worry that
they don’t have the necessary skills – that they don’t
know about mental health or how to be a
social worker – but they absolutely don’t
need to be.
model when talking about risk,
basing it around the more fire service-
friendly ideas of person, home and
behaviours.
‘As an occupational therapist,
I’m still thrilled,’ says Paula. ‘It’s
important not to be too precious
about the specifics of the language,
so long as the concept is still holistic
and person centred, which it is. You just
have to adapt your language as you’re not
in a health and care environment anymore but
a fire one.’ ‘They don’t need to deliver
interventions; they just need to be
able to talk to people
sensitively, and know what
support is available in their
area.
‘They are already in
those people’s homes,
and people are already
opening up to them, so they
have a real opportunity to link
individuals to services that will
reduce their fire risk and increase their
wellbeing in a very meaningful way.’
Not sure how to help fire services
develop awareness and confidence around
health conversations? There is already
a model to work with: the Making Every
Contact Count approach. Deploying the model
in concert with the referral routes to health and
care can make a huge difference.
Says Paula: ‘We aren’t expecting fire services
to assess for health and social care, but to
recognise signs that they needed to be referred.
It doesn’t take long to ask someone how they
are and listen to how they are.
‘The occupational therapist’s skill is
to connect and train the fire service so
they can signpost and refer people
to services if they need them. One
of my jobs was to provide a
directory to fire services so if
they did come across, say, a
housing or debt problem
that they had somewhere
‘‘
Making the most of visits
Fire safety is
everybody’s business.
Are occupational therapists
routinely thinking about fire
safety in their day-to-day
practice, and if not,
why not?
All fire services carry out home visits, and they offer some real
opportunities to work together – do check your local fire service’s
website for details of how to request visits in your area.
Matthew Height, an occupational therapist in the community
safety and partnerships team at South Wales Fire and Rescue
Service, says that conducting joint home visits is a good starting
point.
‘I’ve always advocated that there need to be joint visits,’ he
says. ‘You really learn how much the fire service do – it’s not
just about sticking up a couple of fire alarms. Members could
offer to make those links so they have a better understanding of
the service, which will help improve practice and build a shared
understanding of risk.’
He also recommends joint visits to help understand complex
cases. ‘You need a shared understanding of risk,’ he says. ‘If you
are visiting someone who lives alone and has a form of dementia,
somebody should be present during the visit, either a relative
or key worker, as in some cases the person is unable to retain
the fire advice information, and to reassure that if their situation
changes, the fire service can revisit and reassess.’
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