Occupational Therapy News OTnews October 2019 | Page 10

NEWS
NEWS IN BRIEF
13 new Tower Hamlets social properties
latest to be made wheelchair accessible
RCOTSS – CYPF HITS 1,000 MEMBERS
The RCOT Specialist Section – Children, Young People and Families
is the first specialist section to hit 1,000 members. The news was
shared at its annual conference in London during September. The
group has grown rapidly in recent years and now includes six clinical
forums. To join the specialist section, visit: www.rcot.co.uk/cypf.
£1,000 DEVELOPMENT MONEY FOR
ENGLAND’S NHS OCCUPATIONAL
THERAPISTS
Every NHS nurse, midwife and allied health professional in England
will get a £1,000 personal development budget over three years, the
chancellor announced in the spending review. The money comes
from a £150 million boost to the Health Education England budget,
alongside an announced increase in funding for wider education
and training budgets to support delivery of the NHS Long-Term
Plan. Other spending review announcements included NHS capital
spending boosts, a real-terms increase to the public health budget,
and more money for social care.
2020 AHP AWARDS OPEN FOR
NOMINATIONS
This year’s Advancing Healthcare Awards have opened for
nominations. The awards for allied health professionals and healthcare
scientists have seen many occupational therapists win in categories
covering practice, service improvement and research. There are also
categories for clinical leadership, support workers and awards for
neurorehabilitation, public health and mental health. This year the
awards have a green theme, with the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs sponsoring a special award that will go to
the entrant of any category with the most impressive environmental
awareness. Enter now at: www.ahpandhsawards.co.uk.
£15 MILLION PUT BEHIND DEVELOPING A
NEW SOCIAL CARE RESEARCH CENTRE
The Economic and Social Research Council and Health Foundation
are investing £15 million to develop a new research centre focusing
on adult social care. The aim is to increase the use of evidence-
based innovations and improvements in adult social care and
the transition from children’s services into adult social care.
Engagement workshops to support commissioning of the centre
are being held during November in London and Edinburgh, which
potential applicants are being strongly advised to attend. The first
application deadline is provisionally set in late November ahead of
the announcement of decisions in July 2020. Visit: www.bit.do/ASC-
research-centre.
10 OTnews October 2019
Tom Woulfe (left) with members of the team and one of the families moving in
13 new social properties have been made fully-wheelchair
accessible after the involvement of a specialist housing
occupational therapy team in Tower Hamlets, the latest in its
ongoing work on newbuild schemes in the London borough.
Seven suitable properties for the families of children with
severe autism were also opened as part of the most recent
project on the borough’s Ocean Estate.
The team is currently working on 93 new build schemes in
the borough to ensure that high-standard wheelchair accessible
properties are available.
In 2012, the borough launched Project 120, to ensure there
were enough suitable properties for the then 120 wheelchair
users waiting for social housing. Since then, 200 wheelchair
users have been rehoused.
Under the project, the specialist housing occupational therapy
team – consisting of five occupational therapists and one
occupational therapy assistant – work closely with developers,
architects, the affordable housing team and housing associations.
Tom Woulfe, a specialist community occupational therapist
in the team, said: ‘We now get involved at a very initial stage.
When plans first come in from the developers, they come to us
via a portal, where we see what is being delivered and ensure
that the units are being built to wheelchair accessible under M4(3)
(2)b of the Wheelchair Housing Design Guide, before sign off by
planners.
‘Most plans come to us as wheelchair adaptable, which
means the units would be built to a Lifetime Homes standard, but
we are making sure they are accessible.
With the large increase of families with autistic children
requiring suitable homes, the team is now working to create
something similar to Project 120 for the these families.
Another recent opening was attended by London mayor
Sadiq Khan and Tower Hamlets mayor John Biggs.
Housing teams from other London boroughs and councils
have also visited the housing occupational therapy service to find
out how they might emulate the success of Project 120 in their
own borough.