Occupational Therapy News OTnews May 2020 | Page 11

COVID-19 NEWS Supporting cancer patients to be ready for treatment during COVID-19 While much of the NHS has turned towards tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer treatment is still continuing. That posed a challenge for the Prehab4Cancer programme in Manchester, delivered by Greater Manchester (GM) Cancer in the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership. The programme works with cancer patients, some of whom are physically unfit and would struggle with certain treatments. That normally sees extensively-trained fitness instructors supporting them with a mix of one-to-one sessions and group classes, whether it’s intensive work in the gym, community running groups or cycling. But with the GM Active leisure centres closed and with the entire cohort of the programme being advised to self-isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme has had to shift to remote service delivery. While programme lead and specialist occupational therapist Zoe Merchant has been redeployed to acute care at the Christie Hospital, she is still overseeing changes to the programme. She says: ‘Before COVID-19 we had already been thinking about how we could try and deliver prehab for everyone at a whole population level, so we took those ideas and got the remote service up and running really quickly.’ Fortunately, the instructors are funded by NHS Transformation Fund money, so while most leisure centre staff nationwide have been furloughed, they have been able to continue delivering sessions for patients on the phone and through video calls. Adds Zoe: ‘We have been adapting the assessments we normally do based on face-to-face measurements to focus on levels of exertion, and are asking referrers to send us screening information including blood pressure and resting heart rate to give us a really good prescription and understand from a safety perspective what risks are involved for the patient.’ The first session is completed on the telephone or video call with an instructor to make sure participants are completing their personalised exercise prescription correctly, including the use of resistance bands that have been sent out to the programme’s users. A basic home exercise programme that was already in use for people leaving the programme has been redesigned to then guide people through the sessions, which is graded by instructors based on a person’s fitness levels and baseline ability. ‘That means we can still give out personalised programmes,’ says Zoe. ‘People are really enjoying it. Some of the people we work with, especially the older ones living alone, can be quite lonely. We’re always focused on wellbeing, but this is really helping to support people during isolation, giving them daily structure on top of the physical benefits of the exercise. The programme supports around 300 people a week, with everyone receiving at least one call every week. VACANCY FOR COUNCIL MEMBER, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 2020-2021 An interim member (serving for one year) is needed for this seat on the BAOT/RCOT Council. The candidate must be a BAOT Professional Member in good standing who is an accredited BAOT steward. As well as being a member of Council, this individual will also be required to sit on the BAOT/UNISON Occupational Therapy Panel. The term of office starts at the end of June 2020 until the 2021 AGM. Council meets 4 times a year mainly in London and the Panel meets 3 times in London. Interim members are considered as Trustees/Company Directors with all the implications this entails and have the same voting rights as other Council members. Council will hold an electronic ballot to elect the new member. NB: Any person considering this post should gain the support of their manager so that he/she is aware of the time away from work which the responsibility of holding a national office involves. For more information and a nomination form, please contact: Dominique Le Marchand on 020 3141 4617 or email: [email protected] or go to the web page: https://www.rcot.co.uk/about-us/governance/council-and-boards/ royal-college-occupational-therapists-council Deadline for return of nominations: MONDAY 8 JUNE 2020 Royal College of Occupational Therapists is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 275119) and in Scotland (No. SCO39573) and a limited company registered in England (No. 1347374). Registered office: 106–114 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB. VAT Reg. No. 242 7829 47. N214 OTnews May 2020 11