Neonatal care
Neonatal care
Feature
England , it was identified that we required a project with a focus on aiming to improve confidence in the knowledge base , which in turn could increase the likelihood of therapists applying for a role as they arise .
The ODN occupational therapists devised a short , free , virtual engagement event , which included : examples of occupational therapists moving from other areas of practice , using an array of transferable skills ; case studies of the occupational therapy process for families within the neonatal setting ; educational sessions on the sensory environment and preterm development ; and breakout sessions to discuss barriers and challenges around ‘ getting into neonatal occupational therapy ’.
The primary objective of the event was to improve occupational therapists ’ confidence in their neonatal role , targeting registered occupational therapists .
There are several current resources available to neonatal occupational therapists , including RCOT ’ s guidelines ( RCOT 2022 ), developmental care teaching , early intervention teaching , neonatal setting-specific training , e-learning for health care ’ s introduction to neonatal AHP modules ( E-LFH 2022 ), and various assessment courses .
None of these specifically target breaking down the barriers for this experienced , yet apprehensive cohort .
The successful event has now been held three times ; a pilot in July 2022 and two subsequent dates in October 2022 and January 2023 .
A poll completed with participants at the beginning and end of each event , exploring confidence in their understanding of the role , showed an average increase from 15 % to 90 % ( see graph ).
The neonatal critical care review ( NCCR 2019 ) defines AHPs as being central to the implementation and embedding of developmentally-sensitive care into neonatal practice and champions the need to view neonatal care that looks forward to improving longer-term outcomes for babies and their families .
These ‘ getting into neonatal occupational therapy ’ events serve as one of many interventions as we embark upon this journey of workforce development .
Similarly , a large amount of collaboration , profile raising and relationship building is required across the neonatal networks to better understand the role of occupational therapy and to gain acknowledgement of its value , to initiate the creation of further posts .
As a result of feedback and the increased availability of occupational therapy posts , the ODN OTs will now explore the creation of a workshop to support those new into a neonatal post to facilitate development around setting up a new service .
British Association of Perinatal Medicine ( BAPM ) ( 2022 . The British Association of Perinatal Medicine Service and Quality Standards for Provision of Neonatal care in the UK . Available at https :// bit . ly / 3HzsYlR [ accessed 23 January 2023 ].
Chief Allied Health Professions Office ( 2022 ) The Allied Health Professions ( AHPs ) Strategy for England : AHPs Deliver 2022-2027 . Available at https :// bit . ly / 421MzDy [ accessed 2 May 2023 ]
GIRFT and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health ( 2020 ) GIRFT : A snapshot of neonatal services and workforce in the UK . Available at https :// bit . ly / 3VoGCy4 [ accessed 23 January 2023 ].
Health Education England ( HEE ) ( 2023 ). Introduction to allied health professionals in neonatal care . HEE e-LFH . Available at https :// bit . ly / 3AMnaSv [ Accessed 23 January 2023 ].
NHS England and NHS Improvement ( 2019 ) Implementing the recommendations of the neonatal critical care transformation review . https :// bit . ly / 3AMRsUX [ accessed 2 May 2023 ].
Royal College of Occupational Therapists ( 2022 ) Occupational therapy in neonatal services and early intervention ( 2nd ed ) London : RCOT .
Words HANNAH GORMLEY , Neonatal OT and Lead OT for the Yorkshire and Humber Neonatal ODN , and BEN HARRIS- SCANLON , Neonatal OT and Lead OT for the West Midlands Neonatal ODN . With thanks to all the Neonatal ODN OTs across England and the clinicians involved for their support in the content and facilitation of this event .
May 2023 OTnews 49