NEWS
Brain injury case managers easing
away from ‘virtual first’ approach to
rehabilitation
Brain injury case managers are easing away from a ‘virtual first’
approach to rehabilitation, with the majority expecting to make
referrals to residential-based programmes over the next three
months.
Calvert Reconnections, a neurorehabilitation centre based
in Keswick, asked 152 brain injury case managers when they
anticipate being able to refer brain injured clients to residentialbased
programmes.
Only 10 per cent of case managers said they are making
referrals at the moment, but 70 per cent said they expect to be
making referrals within three months.
Despite the planned return to residential referrals, 84 per cent
of those surveyed said that virtual rehabilitation had been essential
to meet the rehabilitation and mental health needs of their brain
injured clients.
In other findings, 91 per cent of case managers said that
brain injury rehabilitation post COVID-19 is going to be more
reliant on the private and charitable sectors due to stretched
NHS resources, while 86 per cent anticipate an increase in the
use of outdoor activities in rehabilitation plans for brain injured
patients. 89 per cent expect the UK to face a ‘tidal wave’ of brain
injury rehabilitation need.
Heather Batey, a neuro occupational therapist and director
of reach at The Lake District Calvert Trust, which runs Calvert
Reconnections, said: ‘While brain injury rehabilitation has been
driven to crisis point by COVID-19 and intervention has been
adversely affected, there are now positive signs with ‘face-to-face’
clinical contact returning. The future is looking brighter, but we
need to ensure best practice continues throughout this pandemic.
‘The government is aware of the need to ensure best practice,
and has recently committed to bringing together a task force to
discuss issues relating to acquired brain injury at this critical time.
The UK has the potential to establish itself as a global leader
in brain injury rehabilitation through innovative new residential
programmes, based on research outcomes and combining clinical
therapies with physical activity in the outdoors. This is an exciting
time within this industry.’
NHS England launches online COVID-19
rehabilitation service
NHS England has launched the first phase of an online resource to
help the recovery of patients discharged from hospital after having
COVID-19, as well as those managing their illness at home.
The Your Covid Recovery portal will provide the thousands of people
recovering from the long-term effects of the virus with information and
advice to help them self-manage.
Evidence shows that many of those survivors are likely to have
significant ongoing health problems, including breathing difficulties,
enduring tiredness, reduced muscle function, impaired ability to perform
vital everyday tasks, and mental health problems such as post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.
Phase two of the resource will launch later in the summer, allowing
people with a referral from a healthcare professional to use the portal
to receive a tailored, goal-orientated rehabilitation programme, which
allows users to identify areas of daily living they wish to work on, as well
as providing strategies to manage specific post-COVID symptoms.
The project is being led by the University of Leicester and funded by
NHS England, with resources developed by a multidisciplinary team,
which includes occupational therapy input from RCOT.
Karin Orman, RCOT assistant director – professional practice, said:
‘It’s great that the government in England is heeding our call to prioritise
rehabilitation services. As the UK continues to see the impact of the
pandemic, this new portal will provide support for people suffering from
the effects of COVID-19 and needing rehabilitation.
‘It’s important that the advice people receive is from experts. Our
members are uniquely placed to help and we look forward to working
with NHS England as it develops the second phase of the portal, which
will offer people personalised recovery plans.’
RCOT is recommending that members visit the website and share it
with colleagues and the public.
Visit the site at: www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk.
HCPC invites registrants to contribute on advanced practice as it mulls
regulation issues
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is looking for
more input from registrants working at an advanced practice
level.
Many bodies are already looking at establishing consistency in
advanced practice standards, including the ongoing development
of a Centre for Advancing Practice by Health Education England,
and the regulator is now reviewing what it will do.
So far that has included a survey of HCPC registered
professionals and a survey of higher education institutions led
by a research team at the University of Bradford. The work has
attracted over 550 responses from registrants across the UK.
While the registrant survey is now closed, the HCPC is now
seeking more registrants to get in contact for more research
work, including the opportunity to take part in focus groups and
interviews that will start this summer.
Members can now register their interest at: www.bit.do/HCPC-
AP-project. Read RCOT’s briefing on advanced practice at: www.
rcot.co.uk/leadership-and-management.
8 OTnews August 2020