Occupational Therapy News OTnews November 2019 | Page 3

A s the magazine prepared to go to press, on the last day of a hugely successful RCOT Occupational Therapy Week, over 450 of you had shared your ‘Small Change, Big Impact’ stories to our interactive story wall (www.rcot.co.uk/promoting-occupational-therapy/otweek). It’s been fantastic to watch this grow, as more stories have been added over the week. But don’t worry, if you didn’t get a chance to champion how your small changes are having big impacts on people’s lives, it’s not too late. The interactive wall is live and ongoing, helping us to promote the profession and the fantastic work that occupational therapists do year round. And remember, the campaign is not just for RCOT members. Anyone can show their support by using the hash-tag #SmallChangeBigImpact to share editor’s comment the stories on social media. Back to what’s in this issue, and we kick off with Matthew Box and Linda Agnew, who describe the positive impact and outcomes of a project to review clients who were receiving double handed care packages within the Borough of Thurrock. RCOT recently published a report, as part of the Improving Lives, Saving Money series, Relieving the pressure on social care: the value of occupational therapy, which highlights the work of occupational therapists in relieving pressure on the social care system. The project in Thurrock is an example of the contribution that occupational therapists can make in this area. The main aims of the project were to improve the capacity of care providers to address the demand for care, reduce client waiting times for care provision within their homes, review current equipment provision, undertake risk assessments for each client to ensure their safety, as well as identifying any cost saving benefits. Turn to page 16 to see what they found. November’s cover feature is from Natalie Jones, who reflects on her 18-month secondment as a head occupational therapist and shares what she learned about leadership during her tenure. She suggests professional leaders have six important roles. Turn to page 22 to see what they are. On page 20, following last month’s feature on the changes to the Blue Badge scheme in England, Sarah Sutton and the Blue Badge Assessors Working Group in Scotland focus on the workings of the scheme there. They ask the questions: What is the main purpose of the Blue Badge Scheme? Why do we have it? Who should benefit from this scheme? And how do we foster an enabling culture, rather than one of criteria entitlement? Other contributors this month include: Lisa Eagles, an occupational therapy student at Canterbury Christ Church University, who discusses a community project and the impact of occupational therapy on the wellbeing of survivors of domestic violence (page 30); Andrew Higginson, an occupational therapy assistant within the prison service, who describes an innovative way of delivering occupational therapy in a personality treatment service, through ‘comedy, banter and humour’; and Audrey Yong, Stuart Heaton and Diane Chandler, who describe work to support a capable environment for people with learning disabilities and behaviours that challenge within Sussex. And if that’s not enough, we also focus on some fascinating individual career journeys and the work of Academic Health Science Networks – the innovation arm of the NHS in England. 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] Tracey Samuels, Editor