Occupational Therapy News OTnews November 2019 | Page 9

NEWS
Social prescribing academy launches
New framework launched to
support occupational therapists
moving into social care
A learning and development framework supporting occupational
therapists new to or returning to work in adult social care has been
launched for use across the UK.
The guide is aimed at new staff, returners and their managers.
The framework is aligned with the Health and Care Professions
Council (HCPC) standards for continuing professional development
and is based on the four pillars of practice in the RCOT Career
Development Framework.
The framework was jointly developed by RCOT and Skills for Care,
who co-created it with occupational therapists, managers, learning
and development and workforce staff from the social care sector.
Andy Tilden, interim CEO at Skills for Care, said: ‘We know the vital
contribution the 3,500 occupational therapists in England alone make
to our sector day in and day out. This practical framework is another
positive result of our longstanding working relationship with RCOT
that will support the learning and development needs of this key
group of registered professionals at different stages of their careers.’
Karin Bishop, RCOT director of professional operations, said:
‘We are proud to work with Skills for Care to deliver this practical
resource for both occupational therapists who work in social care
and their managers.
‘Occupational therapists play a crucial role in supporting people
who access social care to lead the lives they want. The new
framework will support their learning, enabling them to deliver safe
and effective services for the people who access them.’
It is anticipated that it will take approximately 12 months for
individuals to work through all the elements of the framework, but
this will depend upon factors such as working hours, patterns of
work and specific employer requirements.
The new framework can be accessed at: www.skillsforcare.org.
uk/occupationaltherapists.
The National Academy for Social Prescribing has launched,
with the ambition that every patient in England has access to
social prescribing schemes on the NHS as readily as they do to
medical care.
The independent academy is receiving £5 million from
the government and is being led by Professor Helen Stokes-
Lampard, the outgoing chair of the Royal College of General
Practitioners. The academy has been developed with Sport
England, Arts Council England and a range of voluntary sector
partners, with some early input from RCOT.
Over 60 per cent of clinical commissioning groups already
use social groups for patients with anxiety, mental health
problems and dementia. There is some evidence that people
with access to social prescribing link workers require fewer
hospital appointments and present at accident and emergency
less frequently.
The NHS Long-Term Plan included a plan to train over
1,000 link workers by 2021, reaching 900,000 people. The
government’s Loneliness Strategy says that every eligible
patient should have access to a social prescribing connector
scheme by 2023.
RCOT attended the launch will engage further with the
academy to promote the unique role of occupational therapy in
social prescribing.
Professor Stokes-Lampard said: I’m looking forward to
starting work with colleagues from so many sectors to bring
social prescribing into the mainstream, to train and educate
social prescribers of the future and to establish a great evidence
base and raise the profile of this fantastic initiative.’
Visit the academy’s website at:
www.socialprescribingacademy.org.uk.
Read more about occupational therapy’s role in social
prescribing at: www.rcot.co.uk/news/occupational-therapy-role-
social-prescribing.
Quote of the month
‘We know the vital contribution the 3,500
occupational therapists in England alone
make to our sector day in and day out’
Andy Tilden, Skills for Care
OTnews November 2019 9