Tracey Samuels, Editor of RCOT’s monthly membership magazine OTnews, tells us what is covered in the latest issue.
Wednesday 30 June and Thursday 1 July saw almost 1,600 members of the occupational therapy community come together for RCOT’s 44th annual conference, and its first ever wholly virtual event.
It was a vibrant and lively two-day event, which saw delegates get involved in a creative mix of live and pre-recorded sessions, chat rooms, live video link-ups, poster presentations, product demonstrations, an RCOT Hub area, and a fast-moving Twitter wall, which showcased all the #RCOT2021 activity in one accessible place.
With 99 sessions over the two days, a huge range of different speakers and panels discussing the four conference themes, and #RCOT2021 trending on Twitter, there was a fantastic amount of lively and engaging content and debate.
Over the next two issues of OTnews we will be reviewing some of the most popular sessions and poster presentations.
In the July issue which has been sent out to members, we look at some of the sessions that made the ‘top 10’ by unique views, including Professor Sally Singh, Head of Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, who said we need to develop the research and evidence the strengths of pulmonary rehab as an intervention for people with post-COVID-19 symptoms and Professor Sir Michael Marmot, who called on the government to ‘put a fair distribution of health and wellbeing’ at the heart of its policies.
Our features this month are varied:
- Helen Bucke urges occupational therapists to recognise how their unique skills can positively impact and improve the lives of adults on the autism spectrum, and to take action.
Given the incidence and increasing understanding of what it means to be neurodiverse, she says, now is the perfect time for occupational therapists to recognise and action the value that the profession can offer in positively impacting and improving the lives of adults on the autism spectrum.
- Liliana Mandal talks about how she overcame her own personal learning difficulties, and reflects on her experience to becoming and practising as an occupational therapist.
- On the topic of service redevelopment and redeployment, Natalie Morgan, lead occupational therapist for Long COVID at NELFT NHS Foundation Trust, talks about the initial hospital discharge hub set up to relieve pressure on beds when the pandemic struck, and the more recent development of a Long COVID clinic to tackle rehabilitation needs.
- Nicola Slade, senior occupational therapist at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, reflects on what it was like to be told to ‘go home and stay at home’ when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, before finding volunteering work and ultimately redeployment.
Other articles look at introducing measuring outcomes and demonstrating quality of service in adult social care; a look at some of the Essex County Council’s Children and Young People with Disabilities occupational therapy team’s most important achievements in service developments; and the phenomenal success of Kirklees Council’s Moving and Handling Team’s single-handed care project, in adult social care. We hope you enjoy the issue.
OTnews is our monthly membership magazine. As well as the printed copy, you can also view the magazine online. If you would like to share your innovative service developments and reflections on new ways of working in a future issue, why not download the guidance or get in touch with the editor at editorial@rcot.co.uk or Tweet us @OTnews.