Occupational Therapy News OTNews March 2020 | Page 51

PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES The King’s Fund has published a new report on health and care for people who sleep rough Many people who sleep rough experience a toxic combination of struggles that most of the wider population find difficult to truly understand. These include personal safety, food, shelter and multiple health and care needs that all too often are not met. Commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, this new research explores how four different local areas are delivering effective health and care services to people sleeping rough and what other areas might be able to learn from them. The think tank interviewed a set of key individuals in each area, which included commissioners and managers of health services, clinicians, public health, housing and adult social care, VCSE providers and elected councillors. The research partners at the University of York conducted one focus group in each area with people who have lived experience of sleeping rough. Across the four areas, five common principles of delivering effective health care to people sleeping rough were identified, that other areas may find useful to learn from: find and engage people sleeping rough; build and support the workforce to go above and beyond; prioritise relationships; tailor the response; and use the power of commissioning. While the report stresses that ‘there is no blueprint for how to improve the health of people sleeping rough’, the report’s findings point to multiple ways that local and national leaders can support individuals to get better access to health and care. The report implies that local leaders need to understand the importance of leadership across a local system, with shared ownership for ending rough sleeping and responsibility for their individual roles in driving improvements. It also says that they should be committed to collaboration and clear accountability across health, housing and social care. They need to gain political buy-in and support, as well as asking themselves how well, as a team, they hear and act on the views of people sleeping rough. Local leaders should develop the capacity of others and support them to lead change. It recognises that government departments and arm’s length bodies also have a key role to play in encouraging wider progress. While recent funding commitments are welcomed, it says there is a need to ensure new funding is sufficient for the task and that areas are equipped to use it effectively. This also means ensuring a more strategic approach to funding with longer time frames and more flexibility for adaption to the local context. To read the full report, Delivering health and care for people who sleep rough: going above and beyond, please visit: www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/delivering-health-care-people- sleep-rough. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS DR ELIZABETH CASSON MEMORIAL LECTURESHIP 2021 COUNCIL IS INVITING RCOT MEMBERS TO SEND NOMINATIONS FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS DR ELIZABETH CASSON MEMORIAL LECTURESHIP 2021. Purpose: This lectureship is a memorial to Elizabeth Casson (1881–1954) in honour of her contributions to the profession of occupational therapy. The first woman to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of Bristol in 1929, she specialised in psychiatry and introduced occupational therapy to England, setting up the first school of occupational therapy, Dorset House, in Bristol. The lectureship is awarded to a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) who is considered by their peers to have made and be making a significant contribution to the development of the profession. The name of the 2021 Elizabeth Casson Memorial lecturer will be announced at the 2020 Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture. Selection Criteria: The nominee will have made a significant contribution to the profession by: 1. Being an inspirational professional within their area of practice, research, education or management 2. Being an excellent communicator as evidenced by testimonial from peers, service users and carers 3. Making or having made a significant contribution to the development of occupational therapy through professional practice, service improvement, service delivery, research or education 4. Having provided the opportunity for service users and carers, members of the profession and others to benefit from their work through clinical practice, publications or presentations 5. Being an active member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists in good standing 6. Having actively demonstrated use of advanced theory, standards and methods within occupational therapy that improve outcomes for service users and carers and promote public awareness and understanding of the profession’s contribution. Guidelines and nomination forms are available from https://www.rcot.co.uk/news-and-events/awards- and-funding/dr-elizabeth-casson-memorial-lecture or Dominique Le Marchand, Senior Administrative Officer, Royal College of Occupational Therapists, 106-114 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB. Tel: 020 3141 4617. Email: [email protected]. Deadline for return of completed nomination form is Friday 27 March 2020. We will acknowledge receipt of your nomination. We regret that we cannot enter into correspondence on the merits of a particular nomination. N206 OTnews March 2020 51