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Clinical forums

As a member of this specialist section you have access to two new clinical forums, whose general aims are as follows:

  1. To promote best practice for occupational therapists working with each clinical area; including support, advice, information exchange, networking, and developing knowledge and skills through promotion of research.
  2. To influence, develop, contribute and collaborate on national guidelines and initiatives; including promotion of prevention and health education, with a view to the development of resources and information.
  3. To provide professional networking opportunities for sharing practice, developing resources and promotion of CPD events.

If members have any queries about the forums or wish to share information regarding practice please contact us via COTSSPLD@rcot.co.uk

Clinical Forum: Complex Behaviours

The RCOT Specialist Section People with Learning Disabilities (RCOT PLD) established a clinical forum for Occupational Therapists working with those individuals with complex needs, who need more frequent and intensive interventions to improve occupational opportunities so they can lead fulfilled lives. In England this is the cohort who come under the transforming care agenda, but the group also seeks to include Occupational Therapists working in similar services in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The aims of transforming care related services (England only) are to:

  • Prevent hospital admission
  • Prevent placement breakdown
  • Reduce length of stay within inpatient settings

The need for this clinical forum was explored and identified in specialist section annual

conference in Liverpool 2019 and launched as a virtual networking day in July 2020 (rearranged from planned March event at RCOT due to Covid).

The aims of complex behaviours clinical forum:

  • To promote best practice for occupational therapists working with people with learning disabilities and complex behaviour; including support, advice, information exchange, networking, and developing knowledge and skills through the promotion of research.
  • To influence, develop, contribute to and collaborate on national guidelines and initiatives.
  • To provide professional networking opportunities for sharing practice, developing resources and the promotion of professional development events.

Committee members:

Karen Bates, Georgia Fair, Steven Levitt, Moira Scanlon, Melanie Vale

Please email COTSSPLD@rcot.co.uk to express your interest in future clinical forum networking and CPD sessions or to share suggestions of what you would like to be considered in future. Please put ‘Complex behaviours clinical forum’ in the subject.

Clinical Forum: PMLD

This clinical forum in its very early stages of development. Members are currently looking at prioritising aims and where to focus first, including:

  • Demonstrating the impact of occupational therapy with people with PMLD
  • Review of guidance and evidence base with this client group
  • Sharing best practice
  • Considering the impact of Covid on this client group
  • The significant regional variations in referrals to occupational therapy for this cohort – are people falling under the radar?

The newly formed group are passionate about occupational therapy with people with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and want to work towards developing this clinical forum and highlighting the significant role that occupational therapy can make with this cohort.

Committee members:

Amanda Knowles, Paul Soper, Kate Forrest, Karen Bates, David Haines

Please email COTSSPLD@rcot.co.uk to express your interest in future clinical forum networking and CPD sessions or to share suggestions of what you would like to be considered in future. Please put ‘PMLD clinical forum’ in the subject.