Support workers
Support workers
Feature
It takes just one OT support worker to make a big difference
In Devon Partnership NHS Trust , the winner of the individual ICAN Celebrating OT Support Workers Award 2023 is Alice Zitter .
Alice works on Delderfield Ward in Exeter , which is a 17-bed mental health inpatient service providing care and treatment for people with mental illness aged 18 to 65 .
She reflects upon her experience of using the VdTMoCA and what the award means . ‘ Working as an occupational therapy assistant has been one of the most fulfilling jobs I have ever had , as I have the opportunity to work with people and be part of their recovery ,’ she says .
‘ Thanks to my extraordinary team , I fell in love with the role . I consider the award recognition of the good work we do on the ward .’
She adds : ‘ The model enables me to consider the varying abilities of those in our care and the flexibility that the VdTMoCA offers in adapting activities and goals has been very helpful .
‘ With practice and a lot of study on the VdTMoCA , I have developed my ability to adapt tasks and the challenges posed to patients ; it is not unusual that an activity targeted for a specific level of creative ability needs to be adjusted to make it beneficial for individuals .
‘ I plan group activities on the ward and engage patients in one-to-one sessions , offering support in a range of activities across the four occupational performance areas stated by the VdTMoCA .
‘ The structured activities that we provide change every two weeks to support information retention . In the first week , patients carry out an unfamiliar task . In the following week , we repeat it with the intention to observe better task independence and initiation .
‘ Our therapy timetable is based on the VdTMoCA treatment principles for engaging patients in both unfamiliar and familiar tasks and assessing their performance . I am Italian and I supervise patients ’ activity participation with particular interest in the baking and cooking activities on the ward , trying to instil in patients my passion for cooking .’
Alice has previously worked in the fitness industry and one of the things she is most proud of , is using her knowledge in physical health for the implementation of the VdTMoCA in the gym .
‘ I have been offering gym sessions targeted to patients ’ needs based on the model ’ s principles ,’ she explains . ‘ It is fascinating how much information on components of creative ability
Top left to right : Lucy Turnbull , Liz Thomson , Gaby Randle , Tim Bounsall and Steve Grant Bottom left to right : Kelly Barkhuizen and Lori Davis
September 2023 OTnews 29