NEWS
Forensic forum expands to include prison occupational therapists
RCOT Specialist Section – Mental Health ’ s Forensic Forum has expanded to include prison occupational therapists for the first time .
Becks Blain , chair of the renamed Forensic and Prison Forum , says the gap in provision for prison occupational therapists was first identified after some members got in touch with her via Twitter . ‘ It is positive they have a space now to talk about work and their roles ,’ she says . ‘ Many work alone in prisons , so getting extra support and networking for each other will be really valuable .
‘ There are opportunities to discuss the different mental health presentations we see and the various restrictive environments that we have to work in .’
‘ There is also a sub-group for the prison occupational therapists to meet so they can discuss their work and have time to think about evidence and developing the research base , as this is limited at the moment .’
The expanded forum met for the first time in 2020 , and is now meeting monthly , with numbers gradually rising . The forum is looking at how occupational therapy can be promoted in prisons , secure services and in the community , as well as looking at what continuing professional development opportunities they will be able to offer in the future .
Find out more at : www . rcot . co . uk / mh / cf .
Funding for Future Leaders Programme for BAME members announced
The Allied Health Professions Federation – which RCOT is a member of – will be funding places on the Future Leaders Programme for Black , Asian and minority ethnic ( BAME ) members to help shape the future of our professional associations .
The decision has been made following discussions among leaders of all AHP professions around supporting leadership development among BAME members in the wake of the issues raised recently as part of the Black Lives Matter movement .
The programme , originally developed by the British Dietetic Association and approved by the Institute of Leadership and Management , covers strategic corporate issues such as finance , governance , leadership skills , risk management and many other aspects to support members to have greater involvement in their professional associations .
The programme is free to successful applicants . The time commitment is estimated to be around 50 to 60 hours spread over approximately a six-month period . There will be mainly online learning with others , some of it during the week , but some learning will be self-directed in the individual ’ s own time .
If successful , applicants will join a mixed cohort of BAME and non-BAME colleagues . To find out more , please visit the AHPF website . Apply by 12 February at : www . ahpf . org . uk / AHPF _ wide _ Leadership _ Programme . htm .
Access RCOT ’ s leadership resources at : www . rcot . co . uk / leadership-and-management .
A third of professionals working with people with sensory challenges report increased therapy waiting times
A third of professionals working with people with sensory challenges have reported increased waiting times for therapy or support because of the COVID pandemic .
Sensory challenges during a pandemic : providing and accessing therapy , published by Sensory Integration Education , heard from 231 health and education professionals working with people with sensory challenges .
Two in five respondents said that the toughest challenge presented by the pandemic at work was being unable to deliver face-to-face therapy or support . But the changes that have occurred in the last year sound likely to stick around : the report found that 85 per cent of those surveyed believed the way they were working had now permanently changed , with three quarters of respondents now using video calls to stay in touch with clients .
A quarter also reported that the new ways of working or the inability to work under the pandemic restrictions had a negative impact on their mental health .
The report also heard from people with sensory challenges , as well as their parents and carers , and found a mixture of negative impacts such as the loss of usual therapeutic support , and some positives in not needing to travel or attend sensory overwhelming situations .
Sally Payne , RCOT professional adviser for children , young people and families , said : ‘ The report highlights the impact of the pandemic on delivering and accessing therapy services that are usually delivered face-to-face and often involve physical contact . In common with other areas of practice , occupational therapists had to rapidly adapt and develop new ways of working to support people with sensory differences .
‘ The report concludes that services are likely to retain a combination of in-person and virtual services going forward . RCOT has developed a number of resources to help occupational therapists embed digital technologies into their practice and these can be found on the Digital Occupational Therapy topic page of the RCOT website .’
OTnews January 2021 9