Occupational Therapy News OTnews October 2018 | Página 57

PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
NICE INFORMATION
NICE guideline on decision-making
and mental capacity
NETWORKING
40-year reunion for St Loye’s School of
Occupational Therapy 1975 to 1978
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
(NICE) has published guidance on Decision-making and
capacity. It covers decision-making in people aged 16
years and over who may lack capacity now or in the future.
It aims to help health and social care practitioners to
support people to make their own decisions, where they
have the capacity to do so. It also helps practitioners
to keep people who lack capacity at the centre of the
decision-making process.
This guideline includes key recommendations on:
supporting decision-making; advance care planning;
assessing mental capacity to make decisions at a
particular time; and best interests decision-making.
It is aimed at: health and social care practitioners St Loye’s School of Occupational Therapy is no longer in
existence, but 22 of its past students had their 40-year
reunion in Exeter on 8 September 2018. Colleagues travelled
for the occasion from Norway, Wales and across the UK.
Apologies were received from others, including those from the
Netherlands, Spain and Zimbabwe.
Many continue to work as occupational therapists, while
some have retired. Others are excitedly preparing for retirement.
Some have carved out new careers and acquired additional
skills since 1978; including hairdressing and flower arranging.
We heard that some in our cohort had gone on to work in
research and education. Employers have included the United
Nations and Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). A sculptor and
potter have also emerged. At least two of the class of 1978 have
working with people who may (now or in the future) lack
mental capacity to make specific decisions; independent
advocates, with statutory and non-statutory roles;
practitioners working in services who may come into
contact with people who lack mental capacity; and people
using health and social care services who may (now or in
the future) lack mental capacity to make specific decisions,
as well as their families, friends, carers and other interested
parties.
Download the full guidance at: www.nice.org.uk/
guidance/ng108. daughters who are now also working as occupational therapists.
Word of mouth, friends of friends and social media have
all been used to reach out to the group. We even located a
colleague, via her daughter, through Country Life magazine.
We now have a WhatsApp group so that we can all continue
to keep in contact and would like to include the others whom
we have not yet managed to reach out to. We would love to
hear from you.
Contact: [e-mail] or [e-mail].
Occupational therapy cited in major
new professional sport workforce
strategy
Working in an active nation, the professional workforce strategy
f rom Sport England, was published last month, and specifically
references Sport for Confidence, a unique social enterprise
that uses the principles of occupational therapy – promoting
health and wellbeing through occupation – to support sport and
leisure facilities to become more inclusive and welcoming.
The work of Sport for Confidence has been recognised by
RCOT and by NHS England’s Allied Health Professionals into
Action as an example of innovative practice.
Sport England has developed a plan to give the more than
400,000 people who work in the sport and physical activity
sector in England – and the people they help get active – the
best possible support.
Working in an active nation has two main objectives: to
support the workforce to become more customer focused;
and to develop the workforce so that it is recognised as
professional.
For further information visit: https://bit.ly/2NGPdfU.
Past students gather together, 40 years on
St Loyes School of OT Class of 1975-78
OTnews October 2018 57