2025 A Focus on…Advanced Practice

Fourth in our Focus On… series was a Focus on… Advancing Practice held on 29 January 2025.

Participants came from the NHS, social care, RCOT, HCPC, various universities and each of the OT affinity groups such as BAMEOTUK. As with the previous Observatory, Carers were also an important group included for this event. Attendees considered what precise support mechanisms minoritised occupational therapists might find helpful as they moved into the more specialist stages of their careers.

The event was convened by Toks Odutayo and Professor Jane Melton MBE; both Co-Chairs of the Focus On Fairness Observatory and trustees at the Elizabeth Casson Trust.

The event also had three expert speakers, participating in a panel discussion. Our panelists were:

• Dr Vimal Sriram – Director of Allied Health Professionals at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
• Professor Matthew Molineux – Professor of Occupational Therapy and Deputy Head of School (Learning and Teaching) at Griffith University, Australia
• Dr Lisa Chaffey – Non-Executive Director of uLaunch and Disability Inclusion Consultant and Occupational Therapist at Equipped for Action. Dr Chaffey is also an award-winning Paralympian in women’s wheelchair basketball.

As always, at our Observatory, the conversations were rich and insightful and led to the priorities listed below.

Gill Smith, an artist, moved between the breakout rooms and captured a visual representation of the discussions that you can see to the left.

Our most popular projects included:

1. Research/investigation to find out what the barriers are to advancing practice, and understanding where advancing practice is to those individuals.
2. How do we engage people who need to reflect and address these issues but do not realise they need to or do not want to? Our suggestion is to lobby HCPC, RCOT (maybe others) about mandatory training/CPD but ensuring that it isn’t just a tick box e.g. you can’t do it alone, you must do it with someone else.
3. Peer mentoring circle – making visible role model champions that facilitate a circle that understands core skills for advancing practice, and exploring confidence in core OT skills. Acknowledging the challenges and invisible barriers.

As before, the Observatory team will now need to explore how to commission projects that will address priorities and requested funding for these projects from the Elizabeth Casson Trust.

Watch this space!