Acute care
Chantelle Lediard and Jennifer Ansell have seen many differences in practice , working with a range of teams over the past few years , notably during and after the COVID-19 pandemic . Here they share their reflections on the ever-changing and evolving role of the acute occupational therapist .
Acute care
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Right here , right now …
Chantelle Lediard
Chantelle Lediard and Jennifer Ansell have seen many differences in practice , working with a range of teams over the past few years , notably during and after the COVID-19 pandemic . Here they share their reflections on the ever-changing and evolving role of the acute occupational therapist .
Jennifer Ansell
T he role of an acute occupational therapist at Warwick Hospital has developed to find new ways to complete assessments , liaise with patients ’ next of kins and enhance the discharge process .
There has been a noticeable change in the way foundational assessments are processed . Historically , these would have been completed to help discharge planning and identify specific patient care needs . Now , these assessments have significantly reduced to avoid delaying discharges and to manage the rapid increase in patient referrals and the complexity of patients requiring a more in-depth input .
Our acute occupational therapy medical team – consisting of 13 qualified staff , two assistants and one occupational therapy apprentice – is split into three sub-teams , to cover 15 wards and units , focusing on a range of specialities , including accident and emergency ( A & E ), frailty , respiratory and cardiology .
The team works seven days a week , including late shifts until 6.30pm , Monday to Friday , to help cover the frailty and short stay wards to assist patient admission prevention and work alongside the multidisciplinary team .
This helps ensure a streamlined and efficient service for patients that require assessments for equipment and care .
Regular ward board round meetings are attended to accept and identify referrals along with ‘ bleep ’ referrals from areas such as A & E . The team works very closely with physiotherapists to complete joint assessments where possible and has developed joint paperwork on the front door areas , to reduce repetition and focus on effective multidisciplinary team communication and pathway referrals previously completed by the integrated discharge team .
The occupational therapy team is motivated and highly skilled . Daily challenges include provision of a seven-day service funded from a
32 OTnews September 2023