COVID-19 FEATURE
• continue to work with the nursing staff to provide education on the importance of rehabilitation , to gain a deeper understanding of each other ’ s roles , to improve working relationships , and to work together to utilise a enablement approach to assisting with activities of daily living ;
• reflect on the role of the occupational therapists and the impact our profession has on rehabilitation outcomes , including the positive impact and importance of occupational therapy during a global pandemic ; and
• review staffing and therapy provision across the wards .
Areas for development and changes to practice Although largely positive , there are some things that could have been done differently and many areas to reflect on in order to improve our practice .
This includes the communication involved in the set-up of this new service and the challenges with disseminating information in a timely manner secondary to rapid decisions being made and changing guidance in light of COVID-19 .
Since the pandemic began , the occupational therapy team at King ’ s College have been required to continuously adapt communication styles and it has been essential to develop skills in the use of technology and virtual platforms .
This has been fundamental in communicating and disseminating information within the occupational therapy team , as well as the use of virtual platforms and technology for engaging with patients , and for aiding communication between patients and their families and carers .
It will also be important to continue regular ( virtual ) meetings and maintain communication channels with the nursing teams in order to continue to promote an enablement culture whilst patients are in the hospital .
In order to facilitate more face-to-face occupational therapy intervention on the wards , we have implemented staggered start and finish times , and encourage flexibility across the department .
Working an ‘ early ’ shift allows occupational therapists to be on the wards earlier in the morning , when it is often more appropriate to provide rehab focusing on personal care tasks such as washing and dressing , grooming and support with breakfast .
Working a later shift can enable more patients to be seen in the afternoons and complete joint sessions with family who are more likely to visit in the afternoons . Additionally , the staggered hours and flexible working has been helpful for social distancing in the offices . Throughout this challenging and unprecedented time , amidst the inevitable high and lows , the therapy team at King ’ s College has continually demonstrated flexibility , team work and resilience .
As a team , we have embraced change and continually learnt and reflected on our practice in order to improve and ultimately to ensure we continue to provide patient centred care .
References
NHS England ( 2020 ) COVID-19 hospital discharge service requirements . [ online ]. Available at : www . england . nhs . uk / coronavirus / publication / covid-19-hospital-discharge-service-requirements [ accessed 10 August 2020 ]
NHS England ( 2020 ) Urgent next steps on NHS response to COVID-19 . [ online ]. Available at : www . england . nhs . uk / coronavirus / wp-content / uploads / sites / 52 / 2020 / 03 / urgent-next-steps-on-nhs-response-tocovid-19-letter-simon-stevens . pdf [ accessed 14 August 2020 ]
NHS England ( 2020 ) COVID-19 Deploying our people safely . [ online ]. Available at : www . england . nhs . uk / coronavirus / wp-content / uploads / sites / 52 / 2020 / 05 / C0449-covid-19-deploying-our-people-safelyv1.2 . pdf [ accessed 25 August 2020 ]
Royal College of Occupational Therapists ( 2020 ) The Big Rehab Conversation [ online ]. Available at : www . rcot . co . uk / coronaviruscovid-19-0 [ accessed 4 August 2020 ]
Jessica Singleton , clinical lead occupational therapist , and Emily Hewitt , team lead occupational therapist , King ’ s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust , email : jessica . singleton @ nhs . net
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