OTnews January 2020 | Page 58

ELIZABETH CASSON MEMORIAL LECTURE 2020
1,113 of you joined the Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture 2020 to hear Dr Jenny Preston MBE speak on ‘ Re-engineering truth and certainty in occupational therapy ’.
RAISING OUR PROFILE
We ’ ve had some real media highlights this year , championing occupational therapists across the four nations . Julia Scott appeared on Sky News in May calling on the government to prioritise rehabilitation services .
INFLUENCING POLICY
We are continuing to work with other AHP bodies to make the push for greater prescribing responsibilities and using the opportunity of the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill to enable this . We wrote an open letter to Vicky Ford MP calling on the government not to cut services to disabled children during the pandemic . Many parliamentarians have already made supportive calls , and party spokespeople in both the House of Commons and Lords have signalled support for our work . We have worked tirelessly across the four nations to secure greater visibility and investment for occupational therapy , with successful engagement with elected representatives and key stakeholders .
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN GP SURGERIES
Our research into occupational therapy-led vocational clinics in GP surgeries to provide easier access to occupational therapy for those who need it was published in BJOT . The results were very positive and showed an improvement in care as well as reduced need for emergency services for those who used the clinics .
Occupational therapy in primary care is now one of the RCOT research priorities as increasing numbers move into this new area of practice . Virtual networks with regular meetings are now being offered via the RCOT Primary Care webpages .
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