PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
Elizabeth Casson Trust
Last month , many of us tuned into the Dr Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture , managed by RCOT , and watched Dr Jenny Preston deliver the lecture for the first time as a virtual presentation .
The keynote lecture has been the highlight of RCOT ’ s annual conference for the past 48 years and , as always , we were given much to think about : What do we mean by impact ? How do we measure it ? What about co-production to achieve the right impact ?
Thank you for this Jenny , we are certain many of us will be still reflecting on those words and turning them over in our mind : ‘ What do they mean for us ?’
The fact that these lectures are so powerful – delivered by the best and most respected of our profession – made the Elizabeth Casson Trust wonder whether we ever take the opportunity to go back and revisit what was said . Did we listen and learn ? Did we develop our practice and our profession ? If we did once , should we be thinking about doing it again ?
The germ of this idea has taken root and the trust is excited to announce a new series of blogs on our website . We have invited past Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecturers to revisit their own lectures , five , 10 , and even 15 years later for some .
Does what they said still hold true ? Has the profession developed and matured over the intervening years so we are now in different place ? Or are there recurrent themes that keep emerging , perhaps suggesting we are not listening hard enough or , if we did hear , we haven ’ t translated this into action ?
We also thought it would also be interesting to hear more about the lecturers themselves . What were they feeling when they were nominated by their peers to give this prestigious lecture ? How did they select their themes and go about developing their thoughts ? Dr Wendy Bryant , Honorary Professor , who delivered her lecture in 2016 , has written the first blog ; her original theme was occupational alienation .
As a tease for what her blog contains , here is one thought that feels very much relevant as we grapple with understanding cultural influences and prejudices within and without our profession and how this might emerge in our practice : ‘ Occupational interventions can be rooted in assumptions associated with racism , sexism and other discriminatory beliefs , fostering occupational alienation rather than engagement ’.
Pamela Anderson , Executive Officer , Company Secretary , Elizabeth Casson Trust
HCPC publishes its Year in Highlights report
The Health and Care Professions Council ( HCPC ) has today unveiled a series of major plans for 2021 , demonstrating the regulator ’ s commitment to meeting the Professional Standard Authority ’ s standards and facilitating learning , progress and innovation .
The New Year will bring the launch of its five year corporate strategy , which has been developed with input from registrants , partners and the public , as well as new initiatives to promote equality , diversity and inclusion and the health and wellbeing of health and care workers .
The organisation ’ s Year in Highlights report , published on 30 November , reflects the progress made in 2019-20 .
Christine Elliott , HCPC chair commented : ‘ We all know that , over the last eight months , the health and care sector has faced one of its toughest challenges . However , our innovations and progress have stood us in good stead to keep developing the way we work , even as the pandemic continues . We hope next year will be one of great success for the HCPC , as we begin implementing our new strategies .’
Projects undertaken by the HCPC in 2019-20 include the start of implementing its Change Plan , signalling the beginning of its organisational transformation . A Fitness to Practise Improvement Programme also got underway , and a Case Management System is due to be completed in April next year .
Using data analysis , the HCPC is moving towards a preventionfocused regulatory approach , addressing as many issues as possible before they get to a fitness to practise hearing .
The regulator also strengthened its Equality , Diversity and Inclusion ( ED & I ) action plan and initiatives , and began the development of an ED & I strategy and a registrant wellbeing strategy . The roll-out of these plans will continue in 2021 .
The final months of 2019-20 saw the HCPC create a temporary register . This register was designed to enable former registrants and students to support the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic . Over 25,000 professionals were signed up to the register , bolstering health and care services , and helping to protect the patients and service users .
Christine Elliott added : ‘ The last 12 months has been a year of great transition , transformation and innovation for HCPC . We began many new initiatives , aimed at increasing our ability to protect the patients and service users , supporting our registrants and improving our performance against PSA standards . Our temporary registers have provided a vital boost for the NHS workforce during the pandemic , and the changes to fitness to practise showed our commitment to enhancing the way we regulate .
‘ We also made progress on ensuring equality , diversity and inclusion is always front of mind for HCPC . During the pandemic , the importance of enshrining these values in health and care services has become even more apparent , and this is something which we will continue to champion in 2021 .’
The full Year in Highlights report can be found on the HCPC website : www . hcpc-uk . org / about-us / insights-and-data / reports / a- year-in-highlights-2019-20 /.
56 OTnews December 2020