Occupational Therapy News OTNews March 2020 | Page 3

W e know that some of our readers are increasingly concerned about the impact that single use plastic has on the environment, so we are pleased to report that we have switched the wrapping that your member magazine is mailed out in. We have moved to using a biodegradable film wrap that uses natural biopolymers, consisting mainly of potato and maize starch, and is fully compostable in your household compost heap. There is no polythene in this product, so when it degrades there are no microplastics left in the soil and watercourse. The starch wrap can also be put in your council garden waste or food waste bin, but not all councils will accept it, so you do need to check with your own local council first. The magazine is already printed on FSC-certified paper, but we have gone a step further and have started carbon balancing our paper through the World Land Trust, whose project sites offset emissions through the protection of tropical forest under imminent threat of deforestation and degradation (www.carbonbalancedpaper.com). And while most of our members tell us that they want to receive OTnews as a print publication, there are of course some who prefer to read content digitally, so don’t forget that each issue is available online for 12 months (www.rcot.co.uk/news/otnews). We hope this represents a real reduction in RCOT’s environmental footprint and we will keep looking at what else we can do going forward. Inside, we have a diverse range of features this month, covering dementia care initiatives, environmental control systems, fire safety, social inclusion, mindfulness activities for children and innovative student placement opportunities. We kick off on page 16, where Andrew Mickel talks to occupational therapists working in fire and rescue services about how to bolster connections between the two professions. Lauren Walker, who is now an RCOT professional adviser, but previously worked with the London Fire Brigade as the Fire Safe and Well regional manager in the Healthy London Partnership, believes that fire safety is everybody’s business. She wants to know whether occupational therapists are routinely thinking about fire safety in their day-to-day practice, and if not, why not? Read on for some useful tips about what you can do. Then on page 34, he speaks with members and service users about the importance of community rehabilitation, to coincide with the publication of a hard-hitting new report, published by RCOT, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Sue Ryder as part of their Right to Rehab campaign, which asks MPs to ensure the NHS delivers on patients’ right to rehabilitation (see page 6). On a different note, on page 20, Jessica Oglethorpe looks at a recent project to improve social inclusion in an inpatient forensic mental health service, by encouraging service users to engage in the election process, share their views and stage a ‘mock election’. While on page 24, Elle Souden talks about a London charity’s schools programme, which is providing direct input for children with special educational needs through university students on their final placement, under the supervision of an experienced qualified therapist. And if you fancy sharing your innovative service developments, initiatives or activities with the wider occupational therapy community, we are always on the lookout for interesting member contributions. Visit our webpage to find out how to submit a feature for publication (www.rcot.co.uk/news/otnews). editor’s comment 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: [email protected]