Plenaries and Powered by RCOT

Theme: The future of the OT workforce 

Speakers:

• Steve Ford, Chief Executive, RCOT 
• Samantha Shann, President, WFOT 
• Ritchard Ledgerd, Executive Director, WFOT 
• Robert Workman, Deputy Head of Occupational Therapy / Dirprwy Bennaeth Therapi Galwedigaethol, Swansea Bay University Health Board / Bwrdd lechyd Prifysgol Bae Abertawe,
  RCOT Workforce Strategy UK Advisory Group member
• Karin Orman, Director of Practice and Innovation, RCOT

Content overview:

In March RCOT launched its Workforce Strategy, building on WFOT's human resources strategy. Both focus on the positioning of occupational therapy wihtin healthcare systems, public health and rehabilitation. They aim to strengthen our workforce data to inform the case for occupational therapy and models of delivery.

Global health is changing and we need to ensure the profession is positioned with the right numbers and levels of expertise to meet our changing needs. This session will look to the global context, UK context and then regional.

Theme: Demonstrating the value and impact of OT 

Speakers:

• Dr Kim Stuart, Associate Professor: Occupational Therapy Curriculum Lead AHP Professional Development and Senior Fellow HEA, School of Health and Care, Coventry University 
• Chris Lovegrove Clinical academic occupational therapist; Honorary Lecturer in Occupational Therapy,  HEE/NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Plymouth 
• Amy Daniels, Head of Mental Health, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust 
• Thomas Williams, Occupational Therapist, Swansea Bay University Health Board

…and Practice and Innovation leads from RCOT will give their views on what OT should look like in 2035.

Content overview:

RCOTs workforce strategy paints a picture of the profession, including where and how occupational therapists will be working, in 2035. We have invited four occupational therapists from different areas and career levels of practice to share their vision of occupational therapy in 2035.

Come and find out – and share your views on – the answers to the big questions:

• what the typical OT learner will look like?
• where will we be working?
• how many careers will we have in a working life?
• will OT exist or will we be replaced by robots?

Theme: Growing your OT career 

Speakers

• Ash James, Director of Practice and Development, CSP 
• Dr Caroline Taylor, GP and Chair of the National Association of Primary Care 
• Carolyne Hague, Principal Adult Occupational Therapist, Devon County Council
• Shane Elliott, Housing and Health Lead, Department of Health and Northern Ireland Housing Executive
• Catherine Totten, AHP Professional Advisor for Mental Health to the Chief AHP Officer, Scottish Government

Content overview: 

Increasingly occupational therapists are working within large integrated systems and across sectors. How do we influence at a system wide level, ensuring effective workforce planning and postioning of our expertise to have the most value? As part of the AHP family how do we access, contribute to and use workforce planning data to make informed decisions to best put the case for occupational therapy? 

Theme: OT role in addressing health inequity 

Speakers:

• William Roberts, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health
• Malti Varshney, Director of Strategic Change & Population Health Strategy & Population Health Directorate, NHS Kent & Medway ICB 

Content overview 

In the UK we are living for longer but more of us are living with ongoing health conditions. Incorporating public health into service delivery is at the heart of national policies for health and social care across the UK.

What does this mean for OT? How do and how can occupational therapists adopt a public health approach? What changes do we need to make in our service delivery and how do we measure impact? 

Theme: The future of the OT workforce 

Speakers:

• Professor Michael Rowe, Associate Professor (Digital Innovation in Health & Social Care), University of Lincoln 

Content overview:  

Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly transforming traditional approaches to higher and professional education and research. This presentation explores the key features of GenAI, its potential applications, and the challenges associated with its integration into academic and clinical settings. By discussing the importance of prompt development, the use of AI personas for realistic patient simulations, and the need to reevaluate the definition of cheating in light of GenAI's capabilities, the presentation highlights the significant impact of this technology on teaching and learning.

The presentation also addresses challenges such as unequal access to AI, the need for increased digital and AI literacy skills, and the importance of institutional support. Examples of GenAI's potential roles in academia, such as literature reviewers, idea generators, writers, and data analysers, are provided. Looking towards the future, the presentation anticipates the emergence of open-source models, AI agents that act on user intentions, and the creation of customisable, contextually rich personas with expertise across multiple disciplines.

The presentation concludes by emphasising the significant shift in the social paradigm brought about by generative AI and the need for associated changes in practice across knowledge domains.

Theme: OT's role in addressing health inequity

Speakers: 

• Oonagh Smyth, CEO, Skills for Care 
• Anita Mottram, Principle Occupational Therapist and Contributor to the ASC Workforce Strategy

• Neil Carnegie, Community OT Team Manager, Kirkaldy and Post Management

The vital role social care plays across the health and care system is being recognised but finding a sustainable model for funding social care has proven too challenging for successive UK governments.

What is the future of occupational therapy within social care? How can we develop a sustainable workforce and ensure we are having maximum impact, benefiting the populations we serve? 

Theme: Growing your OT career 

Angela Payne, Ann Underhill and Hannah Spencer from the University of Derby present their session titled, Occupational therapy education: developing digital literacy skills through webpage design.

They are joined by RCOT’s Carolyn Hay, Head of Education, and Anna Clampin, Education Enhancement Manager, who will discuss why this work is important in the education of future OTs and how it is supporting the transition to practice. 

Theme: Demonstrating the value and impact of OT 

One year on from the launch of our Occupational therapy and play practice guideline, we’ll hear from OTs where the guidelines have been used in practice, including any audits that have been carried out using the audit tool. 

This session will led by Dr Sally Payne, Angie Thompson, Claire Lancaster and Letisha Foster.

Theme: The future of the OT workforce 

Brave AI is revolutionising primary care in Somerset and elevating OTs as leaders. It’s providing personalised, proactive care for older adults and freeing OT creativity and voice.

We’ll share our story and show how place-based care, systems leadership and applying AI to population health data could shape the future of health in the UK. 

Speakers:

Helen Rostron – PCN OT,  North Sedgemoor PCN

• Qualified from Cardiff Uni in 2006 and have worked within Health, Adult Social Care and now Primary Care.  I love being able to seek out opportunities and elevate our practice.  Being curious and passionate about leading Occupational Therapy to meet the needs of our local community fuels my hope for occupation to be relevant and central in the lives of people we come alongside.

When I first worked with AI it filled me with fear! Now, it’s central to my work and I am excited to amplify the value of AI to position and inform OTs to have maximum impact for improving people’s health and quality of life.

Sophie Lonsdale – Team Leader of Proactive Care, Taunton Deane West PCN

• Community NHS OT of some years. Enjoying a very unexpected and unlikely partnership with AI in the workplace. We seem to like each other, which is quite a surprise! I’m now two years into being Team Leader of Proactive Care within a Somerset Primary Care Network - which has been acknowledged and celebrated by the winning of an NHS Southwest Personalised Care Award, as well as Digital Vanguard status. In the background I juggle three sons, a menagerie and of course, the ever-loving GP husband. 

I come with hope and good news of how community-based OT can successfully use AI to better target care and expertise, all whilst elevating job role satisfaction!

Matthew Dolman – Somerset CCG

Theme: The future of the OT workforce 

Technology enabled care is underutilised in occupational therapy and has the potential to be used far more widely to transform how we work and the lives of people we work with, their families and carers. Join this discussion session to hear views from leaders in the use of AI, robotics, apps and technology in practice, research and education to open your mind to the possibilities.

Speakers:

• Professor Michael Rowe – Associate Professor (Digital Innovation in Health & Social Care), University of Lincoln 
• Dr Fiona Mcclean – Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at Edinburgh Napier University
• Juliana Samson – Guest Lecturer (Simulation), School of Health and Care, Post Graduate Researcher, Centre for Healthcare and Communities, Institute for Health and Wellbeing, Coventry University Group
• Alicia Ridout – Independent Occupational Therapist; Director, Involve Me Digital Health
• Gillian Sweeney – Advanced Practice OT,  NHS Lanarkshire 
• Helen Rostron – PCN OT,  North Sedgemoor PCN and Brave AI, Somerset 

Theme: OT's role in addressing health inequity 

This session will ask:

• Why is work a public health issue?
• How is occupational therapy positioned to address employment?
• How could occupational therapists be addressing employment by 2035?

Speakers:

• Paul Dunning, Professional Head of Staff Health and Wellbeing at Swansea Bay University Health Board and Member of RCOT/BAOT Council
• Karin Orman, Director of Practice and Innovation, RCOT 

Theme: The future of the OT workforce 

Helena Radcliffe’s presentation – Artificial intelligence within spinal cord injury rehabilitation – ally or adversary? – will explore and critically analyse the prospective use of artificial intelligence (AI) within spinal cord injury rehabilitation and how it impacts occupational therapy practice.  

Juliana Samson, Guest Lecturer (Simulation) at the School of Health and Care, Coventry University, will then be giving an insight into her work helping to create the next generation of virtual patients to help teach the OTs and healthcare workers of the future. 

The use of next-level artificial intelligence means that students will be able to interact with an avatar that “behaves like a patient” by giving individualised answers to specific questions, rather than just being able to list symptoms. The new large language model AI also drastically cuts the time it takes to create a virtual patient, meaning eventually people will be able to easily create their own customised situations. 

You can read more about this work via coventry.ac.uk/news/2024/coventry-university-virtual-patient-artificial-intelligence/ 

PhD student, Juliana Samson, from the university’s Research Centre for Healthcare and Communities, worked as a physiotherapist for 20 years and is leading the research alongside AI firm PCS to create the software which learns as it goes, allowing the creation of more sophisticated avatars for students to practice with and learn from. 

Theme: Growing your OT career

A seminar talk from our Annual Conference headline sponsor – The OT Practice

At The OT Practice (TOTP), independent private practice offers daily opportunities to inspire futures through meaningful occupational therapy interventions. Join us at RCOT 2024 for our "Inspiring Futures" series, where we will share compelling OT stories that celebrate the dedication of our therapists who deliver personalised services. This session will offer a unique opportunity to hear directly from TOTP staff and associates about their impactful work and the ways in which we support our OTs and empower them to succeed in independent private practice. Experience first hand how The OT Practice is shaping the future of occupational therapy through innovative interventions and unwavering therapist support.

Speakers – Paul Cooper, Professional Head of Occupational Therapy; Leanne Flynn, OT Network Manager; Sarah Doyle, Therapist Network Director

Theme: Growing your OT career

A seminar talk from our Annual Conference headline sponsor – The OT Practice

At The OT Practice (TOTP), we believe occupational therapy is about constantly seeking new ways and futures for our diverse range of clients. Our "Inspiring Futures" series will share how we support the careers and futures of our therapists. This session will spotlight the types of work available to occupational therapists at TOTP and the support offered. We will also hear from occupational therapists who work in case management, sharing inspiring stories from their practice. Join us to hear from TOTP associates about the impactful work we do and the inspiring future we are building together.

Speakers – Paul Cooper, Professional Head of Occupational Therapy; Sarah Doyle, Therapist Network Director