time , but also enabled band five clinicians to work alongside more experienced band six and band seven clinicians prior to working autonomously within their assigned GP surgeries .
This ensured that staff received appropriate levels of support to develop knowledge , skills and expertise . It also fostered supportive and positive team dynamics and enabled the testing , review and improvement of the model at key stages .
Feedback from staff highlighted that they valued the support structures that were established , which not only helped to develop a shared team identity and cohesiveness , but also promoted shared values and individual staff wellbeing .
Robust supervision and support mechanisms for staff were prioritised from the outset , including regular team meetings , individual clinical and group peer supervision , as well as informal support from the senior team .
The challenges of staff working autonomously within practices , as well as socially distanced working environments , highlighted that staff wellbeing was of paramount importance . Open and informal channels of communication , online coffee breaks , incorporating mindfulness techniques into staff meetings and use of digital forums were all introduced .
Effective partnership working
Visibility and accessibility of occupational therapy staff within GP practices was important in developing effective partnership working with GPs and the wider practice team .
As GP practices are run independently , we identified that their needs would vary according to their patient groups and individual infrastructure , and we would therefore need to be agile and responsive to these .
We achieved this by co-aligning a named clinician in each practice , developing induction processes and policies to facilitate the smooth integration of our team within GP practices , as well as introducing formal and informal opportunities for clinical discussions to promote appropriate referrals .
Initial feedback from our GP colleagues highlighted that their knowledge of occupational therapy was limited and their perception was of a workforce that was hard to reach , who focused on the provision of adaptations and who had little to offer in the way of mental health support .
However , since joining the practices our GPs ’ appreciation of the full range of what occupational therapists can offer has grown considerably and
they report that they value our proactive early intervention for prevention model , excellent links to wider services and a streamlined approach to patient care which reduces the need for multiple referrals .
Dr Kieran Dinwoodie , a GP at Calderside Practice , said : ‘ Having an occupational therapist in our practice has been transformative . It is improving patient outcomes and reducing GP stress . [ Patients ] are in less distress and attend less frequently .
‘ It is wonderful seeing people get support to remain in work , care for their families or achieve personal goals on areas that matter to them . Long Covid , increasingly , is now causing increased disability threatening people ’ s abilities to work and function , so the public health role for early upstream access to occupational therapy support in primary care has never been more needed .’ An integral component of our induction process and part of our regular communication to GP teams has been the creation of a variety of educational and information resources . These aim to dispel inaccurate perceptions , raise awareness of the breadth of the occupational therapy role and provide feedback about our service delivery .
These resources include formal presentations and informal discussions , flash reports and infographics .
Our GPs have also contributed to other communication and networking opportunities , including articles for publication and promotional videos , and have supported us with evaluation and service improvement .
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April 2022 OTnews 29