This framework was originally developed for nursing but, following further discussion, it has been extended to midwifery and AHP staff. It will help ensure that our newly qualified health professionals have protected time and expert support to help them make the transition to confident practitioners. The framework provides a resource for those in NHS organisations with responsibility for establishing organisational systems for the management and development of the non-medical workforce. It will also be of interest to newly registered practitioners and those directly responsible for preceptorship.
Making the best use of allied health professionals
A free 45 minute video masterclass, run by Health service Journal, looks at how AHPs can be best deployed as part of a flexible workforce and what sort of competencies they have.
The National Patient Safety Agency has published 'Slips, trips and falls data update'. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) is urging NHS organisations across England and Wales to follow guidelines aimed at reducing patient falls. The reminder coincides with National Falls Awareness Week and follows new data that shows 283,438 slips, trips and falls were reported to the NPSA between October 2008 and September 2009. Clinicians at the NPSA say the 'How to guide for reducing harm from falls', produced by the NPSA and Patient Safety First campaign in 2009, should be used by NHS staff to minimise the risk of patient falls.
COTSS - Neurological Practice National Conference with focus on Stroke.
9th -10th September 2010 at Rennaisance, Manchester. This conference is a real opportunity for occupational therapists working in stroke services to hear about current and innovative practice. The programme will cover many issues which challenge us on a daily basis and will hear from speakers well known for their expertise in specific areas of practice.
Early bird registration ends on 8th August.
Maintain core tasks or lose them altogether, conference warned OTs need to consider what tasks the profession should focus on to avoid losing responsibilities for their core tasks, the annual conference heard today.
Vital signs: a nurse-led education initiative for occupational therapists.
Woodrow P
Nursing Standard, 17 March 2010, vol./is. 24/28(44-48).
This article describes a collaborative development between a critical care outreach team and occupational therapists to improve the therapists' awareness of vital signs. Occupational therapists are increasingly involved in patient discharge from acute care areas; traditionally, their role focused on rehabilitation of patients who had recovered from acute crises. In accordance with improving patient safety, occupational therapists need to be able to recognise the early warning signs of acute deterioration and understanding the significance of vital signs to be able to raise concerns with nursing and medical staff.
(Athens username required for full text access).
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)
Congress and International Scientific Programme on 15th – 16th October at the BT Convention Centre, Liverpool.
Interventions for sensory impairment in the upper limb after stroke
An intervention review to determine the effects of interventions that target upper limb sensory impairment after stroke.
Doyle S, Bennett S, Fasoli SE, McKenna KT. Interventions for sensory impairment in the upper limb after stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 6.
RCSLT Study Day and AGM 2010: Effectiveness and efficiency - innovation in speech and language therapy:
7th October 2010 at the Roxburghe Hotel, 38 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.
This exciting event will include a combination of presentations and interactive sessions and will feature case studies from RCSLT members from across the UK who will share ways they have innovated or improved service delivery in light of these challenges. The study day is aimed at practitioners and budget holders.
Children's Communication Coalition launches first report
The Children's Communication Coalition (CCC) brings together national organisations, experts and service users who are speaking out for all children with communication disability within the criminal justice pathway.
Speech and language therapy versus placebo or no intervention for dysarthria in Parkinson's disease
An intervention review to compare the efficacy of speech and language therapy versus placebo or no interventions in patients with Parkinson's disease.
Deane K, Whurr R, Playford ED, Ben-Shlomo Y, Clarke CE. Speech and language therapy versus placebo or no intervention for dysarthria in Parkinson's disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2001, Issue 2. Edited and published in 2010, issue 6.
Intensive speech and language therapy for older children with cerebral palsy: a systems approach.
Pennington L, Miller N, Robson S, Steen N
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 01 April 2010, vol./is. 52/4(337-344).
A study to investigate whether speech therapy using a speech systems approach to controlling breath support, phonation, and speech rate can increase the speech intelligibility of children with dysarthria and cerebral palsy (CP).
(Athens username required for full text access).
VERT Final Project Report
The purpose of this Report is to inform the key stakeholders, radiographers and the wider radiotherapy community about the progress and outcome of evaluation of the Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training (VERT) Project. The Report highlights good practice and identifies some of the issues that hindered effective use of the technology during the course of the Project.
The Report is not intended to be a handbook to guide users of VERT. However, it does contain examples of effective use of VERT by both clinical departments and educational institutions around the country and will be of use to those considering purchasing a VERT system or as a reference source for those who have VERT installed currently.
Executive Summary
This bulletin is brought to you by the Library and Knowledge Services. It aims to keep you up-to-date with Allied Health Professional issues. At the beginning of each month, a librarian will update the bulletin with relevant information published in the preceding month. If there are areas you think we also need to cover, please let us know.
