Occupational Therapy News OTnews May 2020 | Page 28

FEATURE COVID-19
Being responsive and
reactive to the ever-evolving
COVID-19 crisis
With the sudden onset of the COVID-19 crisis, how does a previously
seamless service speedily adapt and reorganise its care? Kristabel Ewers
and Kiri Irani explain how one multidisciplinary team has been prioritising and
undertaking consultations and assessments, all while trying to protect both
patients and staff from the spread of the virus
T
28 OTnews May 2020
pandemic began to emerge, the service worked quickly
to adapt and reorganise service provision to meet the
demand of our new environment, while still maintaining
patient centred care.
The need to be reactive and responsive
As a key component of HULS, the occupational
therapists had to be responsive and reactive to the ever
evolving COVID-19 crisis.
The consultant hand trauma clinics quickly moved
from face-to-face appointments to video clinics,
reducing the need for an occupational therapist to be
present during consultant consultations.
In order to mirror how the consultants were running
their service, the occupational therapists then began
to review patient notes on a case-by-case basis. We
he Hand and Upper Limb Service (HULS)
at Birmingham Children’s Hospital treats
patients with a hand trauma injury or a
congenital hand difference across the West
Midlands and beyond.
The team comprises of consultant plastic surgeons,
a physician’s assistant, a hand fellow, occupational
therapists, and a dedicated administration team. This
specialist service has a strong multidisciplinary work
ethic providing efficient, innovative and timely care to
our patients, which also includes additional work shop
and extra activity-based opportunities outside of normal
clinics and the hospital environment.
However, along with all national healthcare services,
the previously seamless HULS was challenged by the
arrival of coronavirus (COVID-19). As the scale of the