NEWS
RCOT produces Northern Ireland manifesto ahead of next year ’ s Assembly election
With the Northern Ireland Assembly Election due to take place in May 2022 , RCOT has designed a manifesto that is being used to bring key ‘ asks ’ to the attention of elected representatives and parties .
The manifesto has three main themes : ‘ Prevention and early intervention ’; ‘ The right to rehabilitation ’; and ‘ Occupational therapy workforce supporting rebuilding and moving forward ’.
The prospect of an early election has been hinted at by Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP , if issues around the Northern Ireland Protocol are not resolved . Talks are currently ongoing between the EU , the British Government and Stormont party leaders to address the Protocol issues .
Kate Lesslar , lead professional adviser – Northern Ireland , said : ‘ We have sent the RCOT Northern Ireland Manifesto to each of the MLAs , the Sinn Féin health policy adviser and the Ulster Unionist Party policy advisor . We are asking the political parties to commit to supporting occupational therapists and the key asks in our manifesto .
‘ We are saying there must be a move from a reactive health service towards more preventative approach . We are also stating that there needs to be a radical change to our health care system in Northern Ireland to ensure the health service can manage the pressures , and that occupational therapists have much to offer to provide solutions .’
To date , RCOT has been undertaking political engagement across the political parties to inform them of the manifesto and asking for their support , and the intention is to continue to do this up to and beyond the elections .
RCOT NI has already met with the health spokesperson of the Alliance Party , Sinn Féin ( who is also the chair of the health committee ), the Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP ) and People Before Profit , the communities spokesperson for the Social Democratic and Labour Party , the DUP and Alliance , and Sinn Féin ’ s health policy adviser .
The meetings have led to action , and at a health committee meeting on 21 October , the committee chair Colm Gildernew MLA , told members that he had met with RCOT to discuss shared concerns around the workforce .
Mr Gildernew said that occupational therapists ’ many solutions and expertise and contributions to overall healthcare needs are not sometimes fully considered , or not considered early enough . He also said that there is potential , in common with all other allied health professionals , in terms of providing primary , secondary and tertiary healthcare .
Other MLAs have also tabled questions asking about occupational therapy , including the sign-off of the ‘ Occupational therapy workforce review ’ and the implementation of a rehabilitation framework .
Kate added : ‘ In the lead up to the Assembly election we will seek meetings with the elected representatives again , as a reminder of our earlier engagements . I ’ m urging people to read the manifesto and speak to your own elected representatives about the issues that you would like addressed .
‘ Ahead of the Assembly election , social cards will be developed , highlighting the key points from the manifesto . The social cards will be circulated to members , who can share them on their own social media platforms .’
Keep an eye on our website for the manifesto launch , or email : public . affairs @ rcot . co . uk .
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WFNR celebrates its 25th anniversary
The World Federation for Neurorehabilitation ( WFNR ) has celebrated its 25th anniversary with a focus on the excellent achievements and advances completed over the last two decades alongside the exciting launch of a newly designed website .
The WFNR champions the advancing and development of improving neurorehabilitation services across the world with over 5,000 members and 37 special interest groups . The organisation is now affiliated to 41 national societies in various countries .
Professor Michael Barnes , the founder of WFNR said : ‘ Our original aim has been met , to create a global organisation bringing together health professionals with an interest in neurorehabilitation . Being recognised as a sub speciality of neurology , we now serve our patients much better than we used to and the WFNR has played a major role in that change .’
President-elect , Professor Volker Hoemberg , believes that neurorehabilitation has an exciting future ahead for patients and the WFNR will continue to educate members about new technical advances with the use of brain computer interfaces , virtual augmented reality , and artificial intelligence all in the pipeline .
Visit the website at : www . wfnr . co . uk .
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8 OTnews November 2021