RCOT Celebration of Excellence in Occupational Therapy Awards 2021

Wendy’s career as an occupational therapist initially did not go quite how she hoped it would. After gaining her diploma at Dorset House School in 1984, she envisaged doing research and working in adult mental health services in London. However, for personal reasons she worked in Coventry with older people, rotating to acute medicine and surgery, and then rheumatology. Then she moved to Cambridge, to older people’s mental health services. She started a research project in 1987 exploring the use of creative and sensory approaches, published in 1991. By this time, she was living in Surrey and working in community mental health services. But work became less of a priority with the birth of her children, so she changed jobs again to an acute mental health unit nearer home. She led another small research project, exploring social contact groups (published in 1995). Then she worked for social services from 1996 until 2001 when she moved to a community eating disorders team as temporary cover. At this point she also took on some freelance lecturing, training and leadership roles while she finished her MSc, before becoming a full-time lecturer at Brunel University in 2003. 

Her MSc research was a funded focus group study of mental health day services and analysis of the service user data suggested the metaphor of living in a glasshouse as occupational alienation. Wendy started her PhD with the same services in 2004, supervised by user activist Peter Beresford and Elizabeth McKay. Her insights into occupational alienation and participatory research as an occupation directed her teaching, scholarship and research in subsequent years. Research could be an alienating occupation for users, students and colleagues, so she carefully created, analysed and designed projects in collaboration where every activity and task was valued. From 2007-15, she led participatory research teams investigating experiences of mental health services including non-statutory community organisations, rehabilitation, acute mental health and a community arts project in a museum.

Wendy explored the implications of seeing research as an occupation by establishing a collaborative research group with mental health service users and practitioners from 2007-13. Their research focus on psychosis was agreed jointly, working through every aspect together. Then Wendy moved to the University of Essex, becoming Casson lecturer in 2016. This was an opportunity to draw together her insights into occupational alienation and participatory research. Sadly, in 2018 she had to take retirement through ill-health with vasculitis, an auto-immune disorder. By this time, she was already committed to co-editing the sixth edition of the textbook Creek’s Occupational Therapy and Mental Health. She had co-edited the fifth edition, published in 2014. The sixth edition will be published by Elsevier in 2022 and has proved to be an excellent transitional retirement project. The University of Essex made her an honorary Professor in 2019. When she entered the world of occupational therapy, she didn’t know about MScs, let alone Fellows and Professors, so it is still a surprise and pleasure to find herself identifying as these things.

Naomi graduated from Dorset House School of Occupational Therapy in 1985 having previously gained a degree in Philosophy from Manchester University

She commenced her career from within Sunderland Mental Health service, quickly realising that working in mental health would be her career focus. Two years later, and three years on from her formative twelve-month placement in Tower Hamlets, she returned as Deputy Head to St Clements Hospital, part of the mental health services of the London Hospital, Whitechapel.

Within her role as both Deputy and then Head Occupational Therapist at St Clements, Naomi was part of the team who helped develop a postgraduate two-year training programme sited in the Medical College. Once this pioneering, problem-based learning programme was in process, Naomi contributed as a Clinical Lecturer in Mental Health and in addition, contributed to the development, validation, delivery and review of the course.

From this post Naomi moved into a general management position; responsible for wards, community mental health teams, occupational therapy services and advocacy which later led to a project management role integrating health and social care mental health teams in the borough of Tower Hamlets.

Naomi applied for the position of Head Occupational Therapist for Redbridge at a time that the health organisation was in the process of becoming North East London Mental Health Trust. As a result of which, Naomi was appointed the position of Joint Director of Therapies, which meant that occupational therapy had a seat at both the Trust board and in the executive team. 

To further her interest in professional development, at this time Naomi became involved in representing occupational therapy at the Regional (London) Development Centre (facilitating and sharing good mental health practice across England) and worked with other AHPs to establish the London Region AHP role until it was established as a full-time position.

Naomi represented occupational therapy on several national working parties which led to her being a successful applicant for a [Royal] College of Occupational Therapists funded secondment to the Department of Health National Social Inclusion Programme (NSIP). Her focus was on workforce and one of her main pieces of work brought together psychiatry, nursing, social work and psychology with occupational therapy to agree good practice in this area. This was published as Capabilities for Inclusion.

Throughout her career, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists has been a source of support and wanting to support her professional body, Naomi successfully stood for Chair of Council. She spent her four years in this office focusing on improving governance, achieving a positive budget and modernising publications. Running concurrently with these was her desire to see Regional Groups and Specialist Sections working more closely with central services so that real issues influenced the strategic direction of the College. 

She was awarded Visiting Fellow by London South Bank University and has sat on the boards of several mental health organisations (both private and third sector). She continues to supervise, coach and mentor both occupational therapists and others, and sits on the managers’ Mental Health Act hearings at a local hospital. 

Currently Vice President of COTEC (Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries) and a trustee of The Elizabeth Casson Trust, Naomi feels privileged to have had the opportunities she has had. This has meant that her career has been both varied and enjoyable and is in no small part due to occupational therapy and occupational therapists which she is very grateful for.

Jan Harrison had a series of appointments in occupational therapy in the UK and overseas and established her own company. She was an expert clinician and manager, raised the profile and pushed the frontiers of occupational therapy. 

Jan is a recognised neurological expert in her profession. She was for many years at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, latterly as Lead Professional Advisor. She was keenly involved in external neurological associations and committees and was an avid supporter of client centred care for catastrophically affected clients and fostering a multi-disciplinary approach. She built an internationally known and respected department reflecting the hospital’s standing as a centre of excellence. She was active in writing and promoting research herself and of supporting occupational therapists undertaking research and outcome measurement to the benefit of service users. She established one of the first occupational therapy research positions in the NHS.

Jan herself gained a master’s degree in rehabilitation from Southampton University. She trained in The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills which is one of the few measures to accurate identify level of functional performance, and became a tutor, lecturing internationally. 

Jan has taken a leading role in her professional association, serving as a nationally elected member of the Council of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists. She was very active in college affairs, founded NANOT (now the Specialist Section for Neurological Practice), was Chair of OTIP and founded and chaired the Medico-legal forum. She has contributed over the years to the development of professional standards, establishing working parties and writing guidelines, always actively advocating the role of occupational therapy.

Jan was one of the first care and occupational therapy expert witnesses, and she has written hundreds of medico-legal reports and many times given evidence in Court in relation to personal injury and medical negligence cases. Her ground-breaking work ensured occupational therapists are now considered essential experts where care and equipment needs are identified. Her trademarked report format is widely recognised as gold standard, and she has trained many occupational therapists to become experts. As a Case Manager, she has herself case managed some of the most catastrophically injured individuals, with multiple disabilities and complex home and social situations.

Through her company, Harrison Associates, Jan has employed, or provided work, for more than 150 occupational therapists and other health professionals including nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, social workers, and psychologists who themselves provide case management and expert witness services to clients.

Through Harrison Training, Jan organised specialist post-qualification education and training for occupational therapists in the fields of neurological rehabilitation, outcome measurement and functional assessment

Jan helped to forge the creation of the Case Management Society of the UK and was a Director at a critical point as case management emerged as a positive new service. She went on to lead the Standards, Research and Ethics committee with production of a Code of Ethics and the organisational Standards of Practice. She retired from her company in 2020. 

Qualifying from St Johns College, York (now York St John’s University) in 1985, Elaine started working in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, which was at the forefront of occupational therapy practice. She has continued a career in adult mental health working in a range of practice settings including acute admissions, day hospitals, intensive psychiatric care unit, forensic psychiatry.
Elaine has held a range of formal leadership positions as Head IV Occupational Therapist, West Fife District General Hospital and then Head III of the Specialist Services Directorate, Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Increasingly she held strategic roles as Occupational Therapy Trust Advisor to Lothian Primary Care NHS Trust and then an AHP Practice Education Lead, NHS Education for Scotland. 

Her commitment to understand how to better affect change led her to undertake an BSc (Hons) in Health Studies in 1991 and then an MSc in Occupational Therapy in 2007 at Queen Margaret University. For her MSc, she undertook a research study exploring AHP managers perceptions and understanding of their role as a facilitator in implementing evidence-based practice. Elaine’s strong leadership skills were recognised, and she was appointed to lead strategy at national level, initially as Allied Health Professional Mental Health Advisor, Scottish Government and then her current post as the National Allied Health Professional Consultant, Alzheimer Scotland and Scottish Government (2012-present). When working for the Mental Health Directorate, Scottish Government, she spearheaded the production of a high level AHP mental health strategy document looking at the role of AHPs in mental health called Realising Potential. Elaine was commissioned to lead and create an evidence-based document as a key commitment in Scotland’s dementia strategy culminating in Connecting People, Connecting Support (Alzheimer Scotland 2017) and the follow up impact report, Connecting People, Connecting Support in Action (Alzheimer Scotland 2020). Elaine has been a lead author on nine national AHP policy documents.

Elaine constantly campaigns to ensure that the voice of people with the lived experience of mental health and dementia are at the heart of all she does. For instance, when commissioned by Scottish Government to lead and write an evidence-based document, she created a forum that brought together people with dementia, their supporters, occupational therapists and AHPs. As a result, service users were able to contribute directly to policy making and to gain an understanding of how occupational therapists and AHPs could enhance their every-day lives.  

She has consistently sought to develop the next generation of occupational therapists including playing a key role in curriculum initiatives in occupational therapy education providing innovative AHP placement opportunities and spearheading the creation of innovative practice education within Alzheimer Scotland including AHP internship opportunities. 

A member of RCOT for all her professional career, Elaine has been a frequent attendee at RCOT conferences, sharing her work and learning from colleagues, and she was recently a member of the Learning and Development Board. The high esteem with which she is regarded by her peers, her exceptional leadership and innovation was recognised by the profession by being nominated and delivering the Casson Lecture in 2013. Here she shared her passion for transformational leadership to inspire the next generation of leaders in occupational therapy.

Elaine is at the forefront of the use of technology to promote the work of occupational therapy. Her campaign within Alzheimer Scotland on Ask an occupational and #WithOTuCAN has raised the profile of the profession by raising awareness of the breadth of services that occupational therapists can offer. 

Andy has spent many years in the Social Care Sector, most notably as Director of Operations and Interim CEO at Skills for Care. He retired from Skills for Care in March 2021. He initially trained as a teacher and has been a residential care worker, a trainer and manager in the NHS, a qualified social worker working in juvenile justice, child protection and learning disability services, and a lecturer. He served three years as a NICE Fellow. 

Andy also helped set up and run a charity delivering qualifications, learning and development to the care sector. He is Vice Chair Covid-19 Heath Care Support Appeal (CHSA), a trustee of Community Catalysts and a Non-Exec Director of Training Now which is part of the Agincare group. Andy was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021.

Duncan is a lecturer in the Division of Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies at Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh and is a member of the Centre for Person-centered Practice Research. He chose to become an occupational therapist having previously studied history and politics and having held several positions with the NHS in Scotland in non-clinical support roles. He qualified with his MSc in 2008 and thereafter worked in Glasgow with older adult orthopaedic rehabilitation and in acute stroke care.

In 2012, Duncan was awarded his Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Science having undertaken a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project with NHS Lothian, QMU and Stirling University, examining knowledge processes that contribute to evidence-based practice from a systems perspective.

Since becoming a full-time member of QMU’s occupational therapy team, he has continued to support therapists to develop their practice, by finding, applying, and creating knowledge. He regularly works alongside therapists in a range of professional areas including neurorehabilitation, prisons and criminal justice, practice education, and vocational rehabilitation. In his capacity as an educator, he works with undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral students, teaching knowledge literacy, assessment and intervention skills, and research skills.

During this period Duncan has been involved in leading the work to develop RCOT’s publication Occupational Therapy and Complexity: Defining and Describing Practice, has reviewed RCOT’s role supporting practice education in the UK, has co-authored work about person-centered communication and is involved in the P4Play European Joint Doctoral Programme. The latter is an EU funded project that has established the first Joint Doctoral Programme in Occupational Science, involving a range of international partners. 

Duncan has been an active member of RCOT, sitting first as a member and Vice Chair of the Research and Development Board from 2015, before becoming a Council member in 2019 as Chair of the Research and Development Board.
Duncan feels very lucky to be able to work with some amazing therapists and students doing great work and support what they do.

Graduating from the University of Southampton in 2010 Jeni moved to Manchester, where she undertook a rotational post at Pennine Acute NHS Foundation Trust. During her rotational post, Jeni was quick to realise that her area of specialist interest and where she wanted to develop her career was within oncology and palliative care. In 2013 Jeni commenced work at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, which is a leading cancer treatment centre, where she has developed her expertise within oncology.  She has been involved in delivering inpatient rehabilitation and more recently has established a prehabilitation pathway for patients undergoing CAR-T treatment. Jeni is currently working at the Christie as a Macmillan Dementia and Frailty specialist.

 
Jeni is passionate about improving health outcomes and patient pathways for older adults undergoing cancer treatment and it is for her work relating to this area that she has been nominated for a Merit award. Jeni has been a strong advocate for the need of frailty pathways in cancer care through engaging with a range of external and internal stakeholders, developing a trust vision and has been the AHP lead for two national frailty quality improvement projects for the trust. Jeni has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and the ability to work on a strategic level. She has been championing the role of occupational therapy in frailty pathways and the importance of patients being able to have early access to occupational therapists within their cancer care pathway to contribute to improving patient outcomes and quality of life. 

As Chair of the RCOT Specialist Section for Major Health Conditions Jeni has been committed to bringing together its members to form a collective and powerful voice to raise the occupational therapy profile.  She has acknowledged the importance of supporting the occupational therapy workforce both through CPD and encouraging members to be brave and to shout about what they do. In 2019, Jeni successfully navigated the specialist section to change its name/rebrand, so that its name would be inclusive of all the clinical fora that it represents. During her time as Chair, Jeni has shown determination to bring palliative care and palliative rehabilitation to the forefront of occupational therapy which has been demonstrated through the work completed on a national level. This has included presenting at national conferences, external stakeholder meetings and engaging occupational therapists from generalist and specialist settings to discuss this area of practice.   

In 2020, Jeni completed an MSc in Advance Occupational Therapy at the University of Salford. She believes that having the opportunity to undertake post-graduate study, not only enhanced her leadership skills, but also contributed to her developing a stronger professional identity. Keen to pursue a clinical academic career she will soon commence a professional doctorate at the University of Salford, where she will explore the concept of social frailty in older adults with cancer and co-morbid dementia undergoing radiotherapy.

Following graduation in 1984 from Newcastle-upon-Tyne Polytechnic and a period of post-graduate study at the Laban Conservatoire at Goldsmith’s College, Rebecca began her occupational therapy career in a rotational post at Bassetlaw Health Authority, moving on to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Later she held a range of senior posts in the Isle of Wight, including development of rehabilitation services at St Mary’s Hospital. Moving back to the Midlands, Rebecca became Head II leading occupational therapy teams at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.  

In 1992, Rebecca gained a remarkable opportunity to commission a new rehabilitation unit in North Warwickshire, initiating occupational therapy services from scratch, where she worked for eight years becoming a District Head Occupational Therapist. Recognising the value of integrated working and utilising her leadership role, she managed a seamless service throughout local health and social care services, and subsequently became the General Manager for Allied Health Professions across 3 NHS Trusts.

Throughout Rebecca’s work encouraging lifelong learning amongst colleagues and advancing pre and post-graduate education of the future workforce remained constant. After 17 years in practice and with an MSc in Healthcare Policy and Management from University of Birmingham, Rebecca joined Coventry University. During this time, Rebecca was course director, practice education co-ordinator and principal lecturer for occupational therapy. Developing an interest in interprofessional working, she enjoyed a secondment within the Centre for Inter-professional e-Learning. From 2006, as Associate Head, Rebecca focussed on student experience, quality enhancement of occupational therapy education, including a period developing faculty-wide inter-disciplinary curricula. Her scholarship centred on exploring educational policy, governance in HE, influences of external monitoring and in 2011 Rebecca was awarded her Doctorate from Coventry University.

In 2013 Rebecca joined the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at Sheffield Hallam University as Head of Quality, subsequently appointed as Assistant Dean for Academic Development. Her cross-institutional development work centred on student involvement in governance, departmental decision-making boards, meaningful approval and quality assurance of courses, flexible learning and academic advising. Rebecca was instrumental in championing occupational therapy apprenticeships in and outside the university – no accident that Sheffield Hallam and Coventry had the first apprenticeship programmes.

During her substantive career Rebecca has made contributions to regional and national level work in professional and educational standards, accreditation, national conference presentations and as a British Journal of Occupational Therapy reviewer. She has supported the strategic direction of the Royal College through active membership and as Vice Chair of the Learning and Development Board, Ethics Committee, alongside steering group work producing revised pre-registration education standards. As an experienced RCOT Accreditor, Rebecca is known for her engaging and facilitative approach enabling course teams to give of their best in an inclusive space.

In the wider professional community Rebecca continues to be influential as an RCOT external assessor, mentor, HCPC Visitor and External Examiner for pre-registration courses. Having formed her own company, Shared Wisdom Ltd in 2019, Rebecca currently works as an independent occupational therapist, educational consultant and credentialed coach.

Jo is an Academic Occupational Therapist and has led national and international applied translational research programmes related to developing effective self- management approaches for individuals with musculoskeletal diseases. Her research is widely published, and she leads collaborative partnerships to improve the translation of research into NHS and Social Care practice. Her research has always been multi-disciplinary, and Jo often serves as the occupational representative on large national and international teams. Jo has worked across sectors and thoroughly enjoys seeking out new partnerships and links between health, social care and community resources. She has developed a special interest in improving provision of accessible education and support for individuals with a range of health literacy skills. Jo is an experienced educator. She has taught health professionals for nearly 30 years and remains well positioned to ensure that student occupational therapists benefit from the involvement with worldwide research and educational studies.   

Catriona is a Research Fellow at the Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Services and Research at the University of Stirling. 

She is committed to research that improves the health and social outcomes of poorly serviced groups, by better understanding their experiences and developing interventions. This includes people who use alcohol and drugs, experience homelessness, experience poor mental health, or who are involved with the justice system. Catriona’s current projects involve working with collaborators from across Europe, including those with experience of the justice-system, attracting international funding. 

While working as an occupational therapist, Catriona was an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow, conducting intervention development for justice-involved people with a personality disorder diagnosis. Her other research interests include relational practice and forensic mental health. Catriona has a track record of peer reviewed publications and sits on the Public Health Scotland Care in Custody facet group for mental health and substance use.  

Eleanor is a researcher based at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She has many years’ experience working as an occupational therapist in clinical and community settings, with people with dementia. She recently had her PhD examining assistive technology provided for people with dementia living at home. Since then, she has worked on research projects which include investigating the support people need after being unwell during the pandemic and developing clinical guidelines for the use of functional electrical stimulation to support walking. This award will support Eleanor to continue her investigations into understanding assessment processes which support the effective delivery of assistive technology to people with dementia.

Laura was drawn to occupational therapy whilst working in the care sector alongside an amazing occupational therapist who empowered people to live well with disability, following illness, or in old age. Whilst studying at York St John University Laura focused her MSc research on ‘the dark side of occupation’. Laura realised that not only was there misunderstanding around this topic, but it also posed complex ethical questions for our profession. She hope’s her research can further shine a light on the importance of occupational therapists being supported to work with a diverse range of people and their equally diverse occupations, and she is grateful to be recognised by RCOT for the Early Researcher prize. Since graduating in January this year, she has been working in North West London as part of a community stroke rehab team, supporting people to engage in meaningful occupations in their homes and communities. Laura is looking forward to a long, exciting and varied career in occupational therapy.

Laura completed her Occupational Therapy BSc at the University of Southampton in June 2020. Since graduating, Laura has worked in various roles involving research and project management at the University of Southampton. She has worked as a research assistant on an RCOT funded project investigating the impact of cancer-related fatigue and as a research fellow exploring the use of simulation to prepare allied health students for placement. Laura is also Project Coordinator for OT Time Out, a network to support newly qualified occupational therapists funded by the Elizabeth Casson Trust.

Whilst working in these posts, Laura has continued to work clinically, meeting one-to-one with university students with mental health or learning needs to help them to overcome any barriers to study. She intends to develop her study and research skills further with her MSc which starts in September 2021. Laura will be completing this part-time alongside her other roles.