Occupational Therapy News OTnews May 2020 | Page 14

FEATURE COVID-19
Creating packs to stay busy on an acute mental
health ward
Life on acute mental health wards has been greatly restricted
under the social distancing rules. It was a problem that faced
Sarah Remnant, an occupational therapist for Pennine Care
NHS Foundation Trust: the patients where she worked were unable to
have visitors and could no longer access community activities.
Therapeutic activities on the ward were continuing in a new form –
facilitating groups in a larger space, smaller group size, more garden
activities and popular groups such as relaxation were replaced with one
to one sessions in the Snoezelen room to better observe social distancing
rules.
Sarah decided to create individualised packs for each patient to help
them occupy their time and remain connected with family and friends.
‘I thought a pack would be readily available as something to easily
produce as we have lots of patients on the ward,’ says Sarah. ‘Where
possible I tried to make each pack individual and person-centred,
including known likes and interests, through discussion with patients.’
The packs included puzzles, such as word searches and quizzes,
to keep their minds active, brief NHS-approved workouts to keep their
bodies moving, as well as mindfulness and relaxation activities.
Included were information on sleep hygiene, coping techniques and
COVID-19 related guidance, such as good practice on hand washing.
Crucially, the packs also included WiFi codes so that patients could stay
in contact with family and friends.
Sarah also created a weekly planner that each patient could fill in to
help people structure their days.
She has so far created 35 packs and they have gone down well.
‘Patients have said they have been touched that someone thought to
create them and has allowed them to continue to engage in enjoyable
activities,’ says Sarah.
Ensuring children have the communication and
self-regulation equipment they need at home
Anna Richardson works in a special school for children with
complex learning needs. Occupational therapists worked
quickly when schools were closed to ensure children had
the communication and self-regulation equipment they
needed at home.
Each family was contacted by a therapist or teacher to discuss their
ongoing support needs. Occupational therapists liaised with social care
to develop a risk monitoring register and to advocate for welfare support
such as delivery of shopping and medication.
Occupational therapists have developed with teachers an online offer
(using Google hangouts and the Class Dojo app) linked to children’s
identified needs/goals. This includes demonstration videos, daily tips,
parent coaching and child-specific therapy where appropriate.
Occupational therapists continue to provide direct therapy and
wellbeing support to students who attend school. Occupational therapists
also contribute to EHCP reviews, child in need and other meetings via
Google Hangouts.
14 OTnews May 2020
Going cashless to
keep a shop open on a
medium-secure learning
disabilities unit
The opportunities for
meaningful occupation on a
medium-secure learning disabilities unit have to
be maximised at all times, so the restrictions that
social distancing and isolation rules can add need
carefully negotiating.
That prompted Vicki Malcolm, an occupational
therapist at the 25-bed Broadland Clinic in
Norfolk, to find ways to help their patient shop go
cashless.
‘The Galley shop really is very important to our
service users,’ says Vicki. ‘It not only gives them
choice over what they eat during the week outside
of meals, it also gives them a chance to practise
skills they would need in the community, like using
money and making choices in a shop.’
Together with the finance officer they set up
a system to allow people to buy their food using
order forms. Patient volunteers in the shop were
reduced from two to one, and patients now use
PPE to stay safe while working.
Vicki also created an easy-read sign to help
explain the changes to patients, who were happy
to see the shop stay open. ‘The patients were
quite grateful we found a way for the shop to
continue,’ she says. ‘Although they can be quite
isolated here, they are aware from the news of the
situation in society.
‘We’re in the business of helping people acquire
and retain those skills so it would have been sad if
we had had to restrict them further. Within what we
can do in a medium secure unit, we’re really keen
to help people live their lives as fully as they can.’
The shop changes form part of a series of
changes on the ward to retain as much normality
as possible. With no visits allowed, Skype calls
have been introduced, supported by a risk
assessment for offering internet access; and
sessions on Microsoft Teams have been set up
with education staff who are working from home.
Staff in the units have also started printing out
their pictures and placing them on their PPE so
that patients know who they are talking to.
Says Vicki: ‘This has been an accelerated
period of quality improvement. We have had so
many changes for which we have had to make a
plan, test it out and review it, and luckily so far all
the developments have worked well.’​