EVIDENCE FOCUS ON
Therapists , which has helped to shape our thinking , link us to occupational therapists working in social care settings and invited us to be part of the annual conference .
From June until the end of the year , we will be talking to the whole of the sector , in all its diversity , to identify the priorities we should be addressing and co-design a work programme that fills key gaps and adds value to what already works well .
We will consult widely on delivery models and approaches that can really make a difference . For example , we have suggested that one approach could be to set up a series of ‘ change and improvement demonstrator sites ’, where IMPACT funds a team of coaches to support a local area to implement a really significant change project : creating integrated health and social care teams might be one possible topic , or perhaps supporting people with learning disabilities to leave long-stay hospitals and live more ordinary lives in the community .
These coaches might be on the ground in a local area for 12 to 18 months , facilitating the local improvement project , supporting a local evaluation and working to make sure that lessons learned are embedded in national policy and future practice .
This is just a hypothetical example to be debated during co-design , but hopefully it demonstrates one possible way in which IMPACT might work alongside local services to make a real difference in practice .
Central to this is our national survey ( see box ) to capture the views of everyone affected by social care . My own experience is that occupational therapists play such a crucial role in adult social care but often get overlooked when it comes to thinking about and talking to key stakeholders .
We are therefore really keen that as many occupational therapists as possible complete this , so that the voice and experiences of the profession are included , and help to shape how we invest our funding .
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My own experience is that occupational therapists play such a crucial role in adult social care but often get overlooked when it comes to thinking about and talking to key stakeholders .
From summer 2021 , we will also hold national and regional ‘ assemblies ’, bringing users , carers and people who work in adult social care together to help design what we do , including occupational therapists who we have met through RCOT .
We will also be meeting social care organisations , professions , membership bodies and other stakeholders to learn from their experience .
Once our full work plan is ready , in late 2021 , IMPACT will be getting ready to go in 2022 , delivering practical improvement projects on the ground from 2023 , working with local services to deliver hands-on support and learning with the sector how to use evidence effectively in practice .
We will be working hard too to feed tested solutions into policy and practice and spread effective practices so everyone can benefit .
This is a massive agenda , but going back to where we started , one of the tests of IMPACT ’ s success will be that if a future student asks ‘ why do we do it like that ’, their manager won ’ t just say ‘ you think too much ’, they will say ‘ because there ’ s really good evidence – from research , from practice and from people ’ s lived experience – that it makes a difference to people ’ s lives ’. And that ’ s what we believe IMPACT can achieve .
Jon Glasby is the director of IMPACT ( Improving Adult Care Together ), the new UK centre for implementing evidence in adult social care . For further information , see :
https :// more . bham . ac . uk / impact /. A version of this article originally appeared in Community Care and is published here with permission / thanks .
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