Occupational Therapy News OTnews January 2019 | Page 11

NEWS How the AHP fit notes are already helping people back into work RCOT will be leading on a new government-funded project to deliver occupational therapy-led vocational clinics in GP surgeries (OTnews, December 2018, page 8). One of the key tools used by occupational therapists in these new clinics will be the AHP Advisory Fitness for Work Report, also known as AHP fit notes, delivering personalised return to work information that provides more detail than the broader GP Fit Notes. In the next two issues of OTnews we will be speaking with occupational therapists who have already integrated the reports into their work. Lisa Greer and Shonaid McCabe both work in GP surgeries for NHS Lanarkshire, and have been using the AHP fit notes as part of a wider piece of work looking at the role of occupational therapy within primary care. With Shonaid’s background in physical health and Lisa’s in mental health, they provide a clear Says Shonaid: ‘It’s not always as simple as requesting a phased return – the term is bandied about but people don’t always think about what it will look like. It could be about shortened hours, or shortened days, finding what would work for the person and their employer. If someone works three 12-hour shifts, is it better to start off doing less hours over three days or do two longer shifts? It’s all the nuts and bolts of phased return.’ The notes also help to give people official backing to get the support they already know they need. Shonaid helped one client who worked in a petrol station at night get a chair for during their shift which their employer had previously declined. ‘The patient knew what they needed and had had that conversation with the employer, but getting a recommendation from an occupational therapist using a formal document helped,’ she says. example of how the AHP fit notes can be employed in a whole array of occupational therapy work. Says Shonaid: ‘I think it’s an area that we both feel will progress. As occupational therapy is embedded more into primary care and we educate the GPs more about the AHP Fit Note, we see more people with employment needs being referred, so we will see that numbers increasing.’ Lisa is based in a training practice for GPs and is taking the opportunity to bring junior doctors and GP trainees up to speed on her work so that they have a better understanding of OT and know when to refer; Shonaid is working with both GPs and other colleagues such as practice nurses and pharmacists so they know she is available. And what the AHP fit notes provide is a more detailed way to flesh out what support individuals need to get back into work. For other clients, provision of the AHP fit note could help them and their employers to develop helpful support and communication strategies, for example by recommending regular supervision, refresher training or buddy systems. This increases employees’ confidence in their ability to return to work successfully. Adds Lisa: ‘One of the big things people are worrying about is the response of their colleagues when they go back to work, especially after a long period of sickness absence. A recommendation that I often include on an AHP fit note is to meet colleagues before they actually go back to work on the first day so they can get over that kind of uncomfortable anxiety – what will everybody say, will I lose my composure as everyone is asking me how I am? Those things can be really helpful to the employee and the employer as they won’t necessarily think about those things.’ Occupational therapy question in Scottish Parliament after service visit The role of occupational therapists in GP practices has been promoted in the Scottish Parliament after an MSP visited an occupational therapy-led service. Margaret Mitchell, a Conservative MSP for Central Scotland, visited a GP practice pilot in Lanarkshire and met with occupational therapists to hear how they work with people with physical and mental health issues. She went on to ask the government whether it plans to use more occupational therapists in GP practices to improve early interventions and preventative care. Jeane Freeman, the Scottish health secretary, said the new requirement in the GP contract to use more multidisciplinary care offered a route to do that. For more on inviting decision makers to your occupational therapy service, please email: [email protected]. Margaret Mitchell MSP visit OTnews January 2019 11