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News from the British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT)

September 2008

• BRITISH JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY – BJOT

BJOT launched its new online submission system, via ‘Manuscript Central’, in March 2008. It has already attracted increased numbers of authors to submit their articles using this user friendly system. Contributions from international colleagues are particularly welcome. Visit www.baot.org.uk for a BJOT ‘Author’s Guide’ and http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bjot to submit an article.

BJOT is also setting up an ‘International Advisory Board’ to offer expert advice on how BJOT can better serve the global community.

From 1 October 2008, BAOT members will enjoy online access to the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy (CJOT) online, as part of their membership package. Similarly, Canadian Association (CAOT) members will be able to have access to BJOT online. This follows a landmark reciprocal agreement between the two organisations, signed at the Hamburg Congress.

• ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2009

The College of Occupational Therapists (COT) 33^rd Annual Conference and Exhibition will be held 23-26 June 2009 in Brighton, Sussex, a fashionable seaside town on the south coast of England. Three of the organisation’s specialist sections will run their annual events in parallel: ‘Older People’, People with Learning Disabilities’, ‘HIV/AIDS, Oncology, Palliative Care’. The call for papers closed on 29 September 2008. For more information, visit www.cot.org.uk/annualconference.

• HAMBURG 2008

The BAOT ran a stand at the Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries (COTEC) congress in Hamburg in May 2008 and very much enjoyed talking with colleagues from Europe and beyond interested in working in the UK, in publishing in BJOT and in the new UK Occupational Therapy Research Foundation (UKOTRF). The 2009 round of funding grants from the UKOTRF will shortly be advertised via our publications and website. BAOT members with 2 years consecutive membership are eligible to apply for the available awards.

See www.cot.org.uk/public/UKOTRF/intro.php.

• WORKING IN THE UK

The UK home office was recently restructured. The new UK Border Agency now has responsibility for considering applications for permission to enter or stay in the UK and for the ‘Strict new jobs list for migrant workers’. Senior occupational therapists have reappeared on this list but visit www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk to confirm the latest situation, which may now change frequently to reflect employer needs.

• POLITICAL PROFILE

The organisation represented by the Chief Executive, Julia Scott, has presented at this autumn’s three major political party annual conferences in collaboration with the Sainsbury Centre, an influential mental health organisation. This activity responds to members’ call for the organisation to work to achieve a higher political profile for the profession.

• REGISTRATION

For the first time, all occupational therapists registered by the Health Professions Council may be subject to an audit of their continuing professional development in autumn 2009. www.hpc-uk.org has full details.

• NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS) IN EUROPE

The NHS Confederation, which represents over 95% of NHS organisations, has opened a new NHS European office in Brussels. A launch event on 10 September 2008 was attended on behalf of BAOT by Kate Sheehan, International Council member. See www.nhsconfed.org/euunit.

• NEW PUBLICATIONS www.cot.org.uk/publications

• ‘Occupational Therapy in Adult Social Care in England – sustaining a high quality workforce for the future’ – Department of Health in partnership with COT (available October 2008).

• ‘Health Promotion in Occupational Therapy’ – COT.

• ‘Work Matters: vocational rehabilitation for occupational therapy staff’ – COT and national inclusion programme.

• OVERSEAS MEMBERSHIP OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS

Membership of BAOT is available to occupational therapists from overseas. For a list of benefits, visit www.baot.org.uk/public/membership/intro.php.

News from The United Kingdom March  2008

BAOT/COT 32^ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

11-13 June 2008 at Harrogate International Centre, Harrogate, Yorkshire.

For the first time the specialist section HIV/AIDS, Oncology, Palliative Care, annual conference is being run in conjunction with the British Association and College of Occupational Therapists annual conference and exhibition.

Rachel Thibeault will be one of the keynote speakers.

Full information is available at www.cot.org.uk and we look forward to welcoming even more international colleagues this year.

RECOVERING ORDINARY LIVES – THE COLLEGE OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY (2007-2017)

Launched in December 2006 with Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, the College’s mental health strategy was the culmination of two years of wide scale consultation and partnership working with practitioners, managers, mental health service users and carers. The resultant Recovering Ordinary Lives are a trilogy of documents:

• Recovering Ordinary Lives. The strategy for occupational therapy in mental health services 2007-2017. Literature Review.  This document considers definitions, policy context, evidence bases and the current competing strands of modern mental health practice, especially around generic and profession specific working.
• Recovering Ordinary Lives. The strategy for occupational therapy in mental health services 2007-2017. Results from service user and carer focus groups.  The results of these focus groups highlight areas of positive practice and those for further development.

• Recovering Ordinary Lives. The strategy for occupational therapy in mental health services 2007-2017. A vision for the next ten years.  This document contains ten guiding principles and a vision statement written by a service user which emphasises the profession’s social perspective of mental health. Five main themes structure the document of valuing occupation, the added value of occupational therapy, occupational therapy leadership, education and training and workforce development. It also sets out milestones to be met at 2010, 2013 and 2017.

The College have been promoting the strategy via a series of 12 road shows throughout the UK to a total of approximately 700 occupational therapists, nurses, social workers, psychologists and service users. Further events are planned during 2008 including presentation at the 2008 COTEC conference in Hamburg.  The College are also in the process of devising a self assessment toolkit for individuals and organisations based on the strategy in order to measure the milestones. For further information please contact genevieve.smyth@cot.co.uk

All the documents are available for free download from http://www.cot.org.uk/members/publications/list/intro/new.php

ACTIVITY PROVISION: BENCHMARKING GOOD PRACTICE IN CARE HOMES

Launched in October 2007, this benchmark tool was commissioned by the College of Occupational Therapists and produced in partnership with the National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA).

The document is intended to inform, guide and encourage care home providers, managers and commissioners, and is of interest to residents, their families and friends, and care home inspectors.

The publication:

§         Offers a framework of person centred quality indicators and outcome measures for activity provision.

§         Incorporates a benchmark tool to evaluate current practice and promote excellence.

§         Summarises relevant UK policy drivers and care standards.

§         Includes supporting evidence for good quality activities in care homes.

Available in English and Welsh the document can be downloaded from:

http://www.cot.org.uk/public/publications2/showpublication.php?c=7&pubid=33

FATIGUE MANAGEMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (2007)

Written by Sarah Harrison, this fully revised and updated new edition will inform physiotherapists, nurses, neurologists and general practitioners as to the complex nature of MS fatigue and the role of the occupational therapist in its management.

The guidance includes:

§         An overview of the many factors that contribute to fatigue in MS

§         The evidence base for the treatment of MS fatigue, using energy conservation/ fatigue management education programmes.

§         A summary of key outcome measures used both clinically and in research studies.

§         Practice guidance for occupational therapists in the implementation of both group and individual fatigue management programmes.

§         A case report demonstrating clinical reasoning (including goal setting and clinical outcome measurement).

§         A CD ROM resource pack.

Available to purchase from the COT website: http://www.cot.org.uk/public/publications/intro/intro.php

WORK MATTERS: VOCATIONAL NAVIGATION FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY STAFF

Produced as a result of a collaboration between the College of Occupational Therapists and the National Social Inclusion Programme, this booklet was launched in November 2007.

It provides good practice guidance to support occupational therapists who work with people on their journeys to employment.  It outlines some of the barriers and how occupational therapists can work with people to identify and tackle these.  It also introduces some ideas on engaging with people around work issues and signposts readers to useful sources of information and potential partner organisations.

Available to download from:

http://www.cot.org.uk/public/publications2/showpublication.php?c=7&pubid=20

UK OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY RESEARCH FOUNDATION – UKOTRF

UKOTRF is a new division of the College of Occupational Therapists and was officially launched at a prestigious event at Buckingham Palace in December.  It aims to build an evidence-base for occupational therapy by supporting research into the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of occupation-focussed interventions; to increase research capacity within the profession and to raise public awareness of the valuable contribution of occupation to people’s health and wellbeing.  See www.cot.org.uk/researchfoundation

BRITISH JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY – BJOT

BJOT celebrated its 70^th birthday last year by looking back over its history and publishing a facsimile of its first issue in 1938 and introducing new innovations to secure its next 70 years.  An online submission system for authors will go live this year and BJOT looks forward to receiving many more submissions from European authors with the advantages of this system.

Upma Barnett, BJOT Editor upma.barnett@cot.co.uk

OVERSEAS MEMBERSHIP OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS

Membership of BAOT is available to occupational therapists from overseas.  For a list of benefits visit http://www.cot.org.uk/public/membership/intro.php