NEWS
Occupational therapist helps stroke patient jam his way through 200-day stay
When a patient at Cambridge ’ s Royal Papworth Hospital faced his fourth month on a rehabilitation ward , occupational therapist Amil Magpantay was able to offer a musical way to keep him well .
Will , who is under the care of the cardiac surgery team , found out in conversation with Amil , a deputy team occupational therapist , that they shared a love of music .
Says Amil : ’ He ’ s a very active person , climbing mountains and swimming the English Channel , and is recently married and has an 10-month-old child .
Will and Amil playing together
Physically and functionally he is well and there isn ’ t much for us to do . The challenge is around his wellbeing , and we thought , what else could we do ?
‘ I decided to bring in my bass guitar for him , I played my electric drums , and we did some jamming sessions . It ’ s not music therapy – it ’ s just tapping into the appropriate occupation for him , with the aim of preserving his core self .’
While they have different styles – Will ’ s tastes are eclectic , while Amil is in a Victorian murderpunk band – it gave Will a chance to think about something beyond his hospital stay .
Will said : ‘ This has had a profound effect on my state of mind . Instruments are very personal to me and it was hugely generous of him .’
Amil left the bass guitar with Will , who has now been on the ward for 200 days . He was then able to use his phone to play music with his mother in Wales .
The instruments build on a pre-COVID plan at the specialist heart and lung hospital to support people on long stays with more clinically significant activities on offer .
‘ It ’ s not necessarily about doing ADL training for many of the people who are here ,’ says Amil . ‘ We conducted an evidencebased review and really what many people need us to focus on here is their wellbeing .’
The team have developed an activities room (‘ similar to typical occupational therapy in the sixties and seventies ’, says Amil ), and has gathered puzzles , games and art materials to offer more choices for long-stay patients who may face wellbeing issues .
‘ I think there ’ s a different model of practice here so we ’ re trying to understand it ,’ says Amil . ‘ We can ’ t rush people home until it ’ s safe , so we have to look at the mixture of physical dysfunction and mental health .’
Christina McAnea appointed as new general secretary of Unison
The first woman to be elected as general secretary of Unison , the UK ’ s biggest union , has taken office . Christina McAnea replaces Dave Prentis to head up the 1.3 million-strong union .
Unison works closely with the British Association of Occupational Therapists ( BAOT ), providing industrial relations support to its members and fulfilling BAOT ’ s role as an NHS trade union .
Christina was previously one of the union ’ s five assistant secretaries and has worked at the union since 1993 , following a career as a housing officer and then working for the GMB union . She has held several positions at Unison , including leading on major negotiations during her time as head of health , and also drove the development of the future social care coalition .
She said : ‘ Supporting public service workers through the pandemic , securing an early pay rise for NHS staff and ensuring the government backs down on its plans for an ill-judged pay freeze will be my immediate priorities . Pushing for the funding and the political will to create a quality , affordable national care service , where staff are respected and paid fairly , comes close behind .’
Christina McAnea
10 OTnews February 2021