Growing primary care – lessons from the Sheffield experience
Breaking through and moving forward
We bring you some of the highlights of RCOT ’ s incredible two-day virtual Annual Conference , inspiring discussion and involvement across the profession .
Steve Ford
Growing primary care – lessons from the Sheffield experience
Steve Ford kicked off RCOT ’ s 46th Annual Conference on 14 June , by introducing a plenary session on growing the occupational therapy presence in primary care .
The panel discussion showcased the inspiring work currently growing in Sheffield , and focused on building collaborative personalised care teams , recruitment and retention , leadership , clinical practice , student education and research .
Delegates heard from occupational therapists , an academic , GPs and students , who also shared their lessons learnt and top tips , to help delegates think about local implementation .
Julia Clifford , Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist , Township 1 PCN , hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust , and First Contact Practitioner , was the first to talk about how the clinical model in Sheffield has developed and why OTs were recruited .
She works across five General Practices ( GPs ) in one Primary Care Network ( PCN ), with older patients , and talked about how she co-designed her model with Tom Holdsworth , PCN Clinical Director and GP .
‘ It ’ s very much a population , assets-based approach , which means looking at the skills and resources that patients have got and building on those to really support patients in developing their own strategies to enhance occupational performance and their quality of life ,’ she told delegates .
The service is clearly guided primarily by what matters to patients . ‘ There is a strong emphasis
on anticipatory care and prevention in this way of working ,’ she explained . ‘ It ’ s about working upstream to proactively find and manage the impact that frailty can have on patients ’ lives , before frailty finds us in primary care and secondary care services .’
In doing this , Julia works very closely with care co-ordinators and social prescribers ; ‘ key in supporting that infrastructure ’, she adds .
Helen Blomfield , Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Occupational Therapist , Primary Care Sheffield , talked about her role , where she is supporting care home residents . Leading a team of care co-ordinators , Helen explained how she has two key roles , driven by the population needs of the PCN .
The first is around delivering the Enhanced Health in Care Homes framework , with the second focused on working with GPs to keep people in work , through work support clinics , as the PCN has a large number of working age adults in employment , but on low incomes .
The third OT to be employed directly by a PCN in Sheffield , was Laura Di Bona , Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist and Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner ( SAPA 5 PCN / Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust ) and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield .
Her focus is mental health , due to the high level of unmet clinical need in her network ’ s population , and the result this was having on people ’ s lives and GP services .
14 OTnews July 2023