NEWS
More children ’ s occupational therapy services offer advice lines during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an increasing number of paediatric occupational therapy services to offer advice lines .
The advice lines have helped to cut waiting times for parents , carers and teachers seeking support , by offering faster answers to simple issues , and have helped to open up occupational therapy to more people without referral .
Among those that have seen calls rise has been Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust , which first opened its advice line in September 2019 .
Jenny Gregory , professional clinical lead in occupational therapy at the trust , said : ‘ Before we properly set up the helpline , there hadn ’ t been a way for people to speak directly with occupational therapists . I would get lots of calls and was swamped ; I knew we had to do something in a more specific and targeted way .’
Jenny spoke with the pioneering services in Surrey to start thinking about building a new service model , staffing and how to benchmark their services .
Says Jenny : ‘ One of our aims was about preventing referrals coming in by making sure people got the advice when they needed it – some people didn ’ t need a referral , just some advice we could give by telephone .
‘ If a child has problems with cutlery then a parent doesn ’ t need to wait 18 months ; a 20-minute phone call with advice may well cover it . That then keeps our services free for children with really complex needs .’
The initial setup was easy . A new phone line was installed in the team ’ s office and staffed by five senior occupational therapists taking one weekday each from 9am to 4pm . It was decided to rotate the duty as the long and intense calls can be tiring , and to use senior staff to handle as many issues as possible on the phone .
During the pandemic , the calls are now forwarded each day to the on-duty occupational therapist ’ s mobile .
While Birmingham ’ s service predates the pandemic , it has seen calls hit record levels in recent months : 147 in November , around two thirds of which were from parents . While the service handles a diverse array of calls , children with sensory processing difficulties are currently the biggest area .
‘ These aren ’ t one- or two-minute calls .’ says Jenny . ‘ What parents get is really in-depth , thorough information , and it can make a huge difference to the lives of children .’
The feedback from callers has been really positive too . ‘ I wish I had spoke to you years ago , I can tell you know what you are talking about , as it all makes sense and I know now why she does
what she does ,’ said one caller . ‘ You have given me more relevant advice than all the appointments I have been to in all these years .’
Professionals also use the advice line , with special educational needs co-ordinators ( sencos ) a big source of calls . This reflects another major change in Birmingham , with a team of occupational therapists working directly with schools and helping to signpost to the advice line .
‘ Birmingham is a massive city ,’ says Jenny . ‘ We have approximately 400 schools , and so it ’ s virtually impossible to be accessible in the way we had wanted to be and to promote what we wanted to do . But by moving to this tiered model , any senco , or head or deputy , can call us and say we have a group of children we ’ re really concerned about , what can we do ? Then we can support them . Being more accessible has really put us on the map .’
Jenny is sure the service is helping to meet previously unmet need , and while it ’ s difficult to be definitive on whether it is reducing referrals , she thinks it will over the long term .
Says Jenny : ’ If you can give sufficient phone advice to prevent further difficulties , help with early intervention or signpost to help parents to understand their children ’ s problems a bit more , then services should consider this as a way forward .’
To find out more on ensuring children can access occupational therapy skills when they need them , read Occupational therapy : Unlocking the potential of children and young people at : www . rcot . co . uk / ilsm .
© GettyImages / Drazen Zigic
147 calls to Birmingham ’ s children ’ s occupational therapy advice line during November
8 OTnews February 2021