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LGA launches first ever employer standards for occupational therapists in social care , alongside ‘ health check ’ survey
The Local Government Association ( LGA ) works with councils and their partners to help create a workforce able to respond to major changes within the public sector and RCOT is pleased to announce that , for the first time , set of standards for employers of occupational therapists undertaking local authority duties in England have been produced .
The standards are a result of collaborative working between RCOT and a task force involving strategic lead occupational therapists from around England . They will support and encourage consistency in practice between employing organisations .
The standards offer a governance framework for all occupational therapists working in local authority settings , providing clear parameters of the support they should expect to receive from their employers . They include recognition of the need for : a strong and clear governance framework ; effective workforce planning systems ; safe occupational therapy workloads and case allocation ; promoting a culture of employee wellbeing ; regular and high-quality supervision ; continued professional development opportunities ; supporting staff to maintain their professional registration ; and creating strategic partnerships .
In order to ensure that these employer standards are being met , the task force has also created an occupational therapy specific survey for staff employed to perform local authority duties , including those who are professionally registered and those who are unregistered , but provide occupational therapy-based interventions .
Anita Mottram , Principal Occupational Therapist at Kirklees Council says : ‘ Due to the wide range of occupational therapy services provided , nationally it can be difficult to benchmark them between different local authorities .
‘ The expectation is that all local authorities will adopt the employer standards for occupational therapists . This will provide the opportunity to utilise this framework to compare and contrast services and organisations , to encourage consistency in approaches and practice that can then be discussed at place-based , system wide and national levels .’
She adds : The aim of the survey is to offer the opportunity for staff to share their views about issues that affect their practice and them as individuals . Any data collated will be confidential , and thematically analysed to identify whether there are any common issues and shared at a regional level . The results will provide an opportunity to explore how the profession supports and delivers effective services , optimising care , as well as how we can promote the profession .
‘ For those of us who are already starting to think about retirement , it will enable us to provide some focus on succession planning and the development of leadership opportunities .
‘ The survey will ask questions that are focused on the core philosophy of occupation , effective ways of working and the outcomes that come from this , the demands of the workplace , opportunities for professional and workforce development , as well as opportunities to work in an integrated way with others .
‘ Participants are encouraged to be as open and honest as possible when responding to the questions , so that we may obtain accurate information to shape our services of the future .’
Jo Hopkins , Principal Occupational Therapist at North Somerset Council , adds : ‘ Now is our time to show how valuable occupational therapy is within social care . I am so excited that we have developed an occupational therapy-specific health check with the LGA , so we can gather valuable evidence about our creative , diligent and fabulous workforce .
‘ The results of the occupational therapy health check will provide unseen insights into our social care occupational therapy workforce and is a huge step toward parity of esteem with our equally brilliant social work colleagues .’
Cate Bennett , Principal Occupational Therapist at Nottingham County Council , says of the national forum for principal and strategic lead occupational therapists , who have driven these achievements : ‘ We are a rich and diverse group who are passionate about furthering the development of occupational therapy in social care .
‘ We have stepped up to achieve our ambitions with the support of the Chief Allied Health Professional and Chief Social Worker [ in England ], RCOT , Skills for Care , the Association of Directors of Adults Social Services and the LGA .
‘ This collaborative leadership journey has enabled us work agilely , to create the space for individuals to contribute , grow as leaders , and showcase their strengths .’
Find out more about the survey at https :// bit . ly / 3TRtK1y . Download the LGA Standards for Employers of Occupational Therapists in England 2022 at https :// bit . ly / 3DnLGLI .
How can my organisation participate in the survey ?
If you are the Principal / Strategic Lead Occupational Therapist for your organisation , register your interest now via email workforce @ local . gov . uk . The live survey will be launched later this year , so look out for more information to follow .
November 2022 OTnews 11