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Lift up your everyday with ‘ OT Life Hacks ’
This month saw occupational therapists around the country celebrating Occupational Therapy Week and on 7 November , RCOT launched its new campaign ‘ Lift up your everyday ’.
With practical , achievable and fun advice from occupational therapists on ‘ OT Life Hacks ’ to use at home , in work , at school and in play , the campaign aims to help everyone take small , positive steps to keep well and lift up our everyday lives .
With videos and social media tips , new life hacks were added to the RCOT website throughout the week . For more see page 10 of this issue or visit www . rcot . co . uk / lift-your-everyday-ot-life-hacks .
Delivering on our commitment to our members , by creating the right team structures
Back in March , RCOT changed its leadership structure and since then the Senior Leadership Team has been looking at team structures to ensure we have the right roles in the right place to deliver the greatest impact for our members and the wider profession , and the people you support .
Unfortunately , as part of these changes several roles were put ‘ at risk of potential redundancy ’ and colleagues at risk went through a consultation process , which has now been completed .
During this time , the Guardian carried an article based on a statement from Unite about the proposals . To provide members with insight and assurance , Chief Executive Steve Ford and Chair of Council Odeth Richardson met with members on 3 November .
Member questions posed during the virtual meeting concerned the length of the consultation period , communication with staff at risk , why Unite released its public statement , Council ’ s role in the plans and whether further change is on the horizon .
Addressing these , Steve said : ‘ We didn ’ t take these decisions lightly . We ’ ve been looking at alternatives , but we were very mindful that we put in place the right structure moving forward .
‘ The top priorities for us , as we ’ ve consistently heard from our members , is creating greater awareness of occupational therapy , providing support for a workforce under considerable pressure and a delivering a better , more compelling membership offer .
‘ We ’ re very serious about tackling these priorities . And to do that we ’ ve agreed a plan that ensures we
have the resources that we need in these areas .’
Acknowledging that change of this kind is ‘ difficult and upsetting for those people involved ’, he clarified that the timescales were set ‘ with the aim of reducing that uncertainty ’.
Going into significant detail about the plans – which Council approved at its September meeting – and consultation process , Steve went on to reassure members that a range of support , the opportunity to apply for new roles and the option to apply for enhanced voluntary redundancy had all been in place to those people at risk .
He also explained that RCOT had previously engaged with Unite and that its statement was ‘ purposefully inflammatory , included inaccuracies and was intended to raise concerns ’.
He went on : ‘ Change like this is not easy , but I do want to say to members that we worked really hard to make sure this was fair , it was appropriate , and it was supportive … There [ was ] no “ fire and rehire ” strategy ’.
‘ These are crucial times for occupational therapy and we are determined to provide the support and leadership that the profession deserves ,’ Steve said . ‘ We want everyone to understand that this approach is to ensure that RCOT really does step up for occupational therapy over the coming months and years .’ Watch a recording of the meeting and a Q & A at www . rcot . co . uk / meet-steve-ford-ceo-and-odethrichardson-chair .
6 OTnews November 2022