NEWS
How to start a new job you can’t get
to due to COVID-19
Starting a new job can be
intimidating at the best of times,
but how would you navigate
starting a new role when you
can’t even get to the building?
That was the situation facing
occupational therapist Katie
Corfield when she started at the
Brynheulog Rehabilitation Unit
at Montgomery County Infirmary
in Powys.
‘I was really excited to start
this new job, but I have been
shielding because of past
cancer treatment and I was anxious as I didn’t know if they
would keep me or get someone who could start straight away,’
said Katie.
The service reassured Katie that her job was safe, and put
her in touch with occupational therapist Ceri-Lee Evans who
was also shielding as she was pregnant.
She then talked her through how the service operates: who
was on the team and what roles people had, what policies and
training she could complete from home, and how this particular
service records notes and conducts community visits. With that
grounding, Katie was also able to join in with a variety of team
meetings via video platforms.
‘I was also able to complete lots of research around
COVID-19 for the team from home to support their work,’ she
says.
With the rules around shielding relaxed, Katie was then able
to hit the ground running when she arrived in her job in person
after being reviewed by the occupational health service.
‘Ceri-Lee was a massive support and made sure I was up
to speed before I arrived,’ says Katie. ‘I knew who everyone
was on the team, and people recognised me too – while I was
a fresh face in the building, being able to contribute on the calls
and through the research meant they knew who I was.’
Katie shared her story on RCOT’s Small Change, Big Impact
digital story wall. Share yours at: www.rcot.co.uk/small-changebig-impact.
Katie Corfield
Half of disabled children lose therapy
and support during lockdown
Parents of disabled
children have seen a
huge rise in their care
load as services have
dropped away during
lockdown.
A survey of
4,000 families of disabled children by the Disabled Children’s
Partnership, of which RCOT is a member, found that half of
children who had previously received therapies or extra support
had seen it stop. That is in addition to the quarter of respondents
who were not getting therapies or extra support to begin with.
More broadly, 76 per cent of respondents said that all support
had stopped since lockdown.
Two thirds of parent carers and non-disabled siblings were
having to provide a lot more care to fill in the gaps in provision,
with many talking about feeling pushed to their limits.
One respondent said: ‘We now have no respite and have
no break from 24/7 care needs, plus we are expected to home
school two children, including modifying home-schooling
work for a visually impaired child. We now have no therapy
intervention at all. This has been detrimental to my SEN child’s
progress and health. We are all completely exhausted both
mentally and physically.’
The lockdown has also impacted on statutory processes,
with two thirds who were in an assessment process seeing it
delayed, and half of annual reviews either lapsed or put on hold.
Many families reported a decline in their mental and physical
health, with a particular concern around the pressure on their
children’s behaviour and mental wellbeing, home-schooling
issues, and concerns over their children contracting
COVID-19.
Dr Sally Payne, RCOT professional adviser – children, young
people and families said: ‘This report highlights the immense
challenge that families of disabled children have faced since
the start of lockdown. Occupational therapists have worked
hard to adapt their services and provide safe support during
the pandemic, but we are concerned that staff redeployment
and the understandable prioritisation of adult services has
had unintended consequences for disabled children’s health,
development and wellbeing.
‘RCOT will be influencing to ensure that the therapy needs
of disabled children and their families are prioritised going
forward, and will continue to share case examples showing how
occupational therapists have adapted their practice in response
to the crisis, so they can be replicated elsewhere.’
Families are calling for increased support through finance and
services, more information and guidance, and more flexibility
from employers, schools and around lockdown rules to ensure
friends and family can support them. Read the report at: www.
disabledchildrenspartnership.org.uk.
6 OTnews August 2020