This may potentially reduce occupational disruption for service users , as the wait for awarding a Blue Badge is reduced .
The increase in efficiency may also have the benefit of reducing service workload , when considered as a function of volume of work within given time parameters .
The health and wellbeing for staff may also be positively impacted , reducing the potential risk of burnout , as the need for travel is reduced increasing clinical practice time ( West et al 2018 ).
Additional benefits from travel reductions included cost-savings on fuel of £ 153.81 and a reduction in the clinician ’ s carbon footprint .
Findings also suggested that the proportion of Blue Badge requests accepted ( 59 %) and rejected ( 41 %) were equal during both the face-to-face and telehealth assessment periods ( figure 2 ).
Third , the quality of assessment referred to the number of service users satisfied with the outcome of their assessment . This was considered by comparing the number of appeals made .
Before the pandemic , a total of four assessment outcomes were appealed ( 2.8 %), while during COVID-19 , six telehealth assessments were appealed ( 4.6 %), as seen in figure 3 . Therefore , while the absolute number of appeals remain low , a higher proportion of virtual assessment were appealed .
The lack of a substantial increase in the number of appeals suggests that the overall quality of the service was maintained , both in terms of its ability to assess for and approve Blue Badges and gross service user satisfaction ( figure 3 ).
Benefits and sustainability
Completion of this project not only showcased clinical benefits of telehealth for the service , but also illustrated benefits for the student , Queen Margaret University and the IMA . As the student took the role of ‘ project lead ’, this afforded many learning opportunities , notably developing the confidence needed to facilitate communication and decision making at different stages .
Leading the project involved collaborating with various stakeholders , maintaining relationships to support decisions , while also advancing a range of translatable skills such as project planning and management , and presenting results to different stakeholders .
In relation to the service , collaborating with the student allowed for occupational needs within the service to be addressed , with less investment of clinical practice time from the therapist as the student took lead in the project .
This was particularly beneficial to the Highland Blue Badge service , as the role of IMA is a sole , part-time post .
Finally , the project also facilitated the building of expansion and strengthening of existing partnerships between Queen Margaret University and the Blue Badge service , which may facilitate other student placements and projects moving forward .
Domain five of the NASSS framework indicates that the sustainability of telehealth must be evaluated from an organisational perspective ( Greenhalgh et al 2017 ). Although there has been a shift away from the COVID-19 restrictions , costsavings and increased efficiency of assessment for the service illustrate the use of telehealth may be sustainable moving forward .
While this student-led project was able to use service data to provide information useful for future decisions , there were some limitations . Further evaluation incorporating service user and clinician
% of Blue Badge assessments accepted and rejected using face to face and telehealth
During COVID-19
41 % 59 %
Pre-COVID-19
41 % 59 %
0 % 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 %
Reject
Accepted
Figure 2 : Blue Badges accepted and rejected using both modes of assessment
50 OTnews October 2023