We are preparing for our mobility day and I am wondering what we should have as gifts for the Ots to take home after the event.
There are hings like pens, notebooks, tape measures and a bag to carry them in, but is there anyting else that would be very useful??
If any of you have any ideas please let us know, and we will try and get them as gifts for the end of the day goody bag.
Invitation to all Occupational Therapists
Find out how to increase your earning potential by becoming a Mobility Assessor with Access Independent
Access Independent provide Mobility Assessment Clinics to over 10 London boroughs assessing applicants for Concessionary Travel Permits
Attend our Mobility Event and learn more about
Ø Working as a Mobility Assessor
Ø The Mobility Assessment process
Ø The eligibility criteria for concessionary travel permits
Ø Clinical reasoning and recommendation
Ø Complaints and Appeals process
Ø London
Ø The service users point of view
You are invited to Access Independent’s Mobility Day
Venue: NVCO Building London
Date: 24.10.2008
Hear from the ‘Movers and Shakers’ in the field of Accessible Transport’ and join in and benefit from discussion with
Ø Accessible Transport Organisations
Ø Accessible Transport Managers
Ø Mobility Assessors
Ø Access Independent
Ø Service Users
(Buffet lunch will be provided plus an exhibition from mobility organisations).
Complete the booking form or Call us now on 01223 501603 to secure your place
Pay before the 1st of September for ‘Earlybird’ rate of £75.00 or pay standard rate of £95.00 thereafter
We are now working hard to try and plan our mobility day. The idea is to get all the OTs who work at our mobility clinics together with the local authority managers to ensure they understand the criteria and how the various bodies such as Transport for London and the boroughs work together.
We run many mobility clinics throughout London
We have found that different boroughs do things in different ways and thought it would be useful to share expertise and experiences.
We would like to run a day for accessible transport managers, staff and assessors to:-
· give an overview of the service · look at present practices · look at new criteria for freedom passes · look at screening tools · look at the assessment processes · look at decision making on borderline cases. · answer questions and queries about concessionary transport · discuss and share practices
We hope to have talks from managers, assessors and service users. We would like a question and answer session with a panel from people working in different areas to help with queries.
We have a provisional date for mid-late October in central London
Well we have had a lot of enquiries this week, from social services and from other sources, I am hopeful that another good contract is brewing, it is also always useful to have a good number of one off cases happening so we are not so dependent on the big local authority contracts.
We are now starting to organise the mobility day, it will be at the end of September in London, and we are planning to invite all our assessors, other OTs interested in being assessors, local authorities, and we hope to have quite a few people from Transport for London. The idea is to try and make sure all the OT assessors who work for us are using the same criteria, and that we can all talk about the implementation of the new criteria.
We will be sending out invites soon, Ian Seabrook at Transport for London is being very supportive.
Well it is an embarressing long time since we last made a post on this blog. My only excuse is that we ahve been extremely busy. We have assessed 600 cases in Brighton in five months, and also done work in Solihull, started a new contract in Merton and even assessed 30 cases in Argyll, including three people on the Isle of Tiree. That was an experience, as Delia went to Tiree to do the assessments, and we all went with herand what was a holiday for me and the kids if not for Delia. Things are a little calmer now, but we have work starting soon in Slough, as well as the ongoing work in Kingston and all the mobility assessments in other London Boroughs.
My efforts to start a childrens service have not been very succesful there is a demand as it is no problem to get enquiries but it is a problem to find OTs who can undertake the work. I have wondered if I should set up something like the Expert Witness programme where OTs register with us, we get the enquiries and pass on the info, and the OT agrees the peice etc. We would charge the OT a small sum to be a member.
Delia is busy planning her mobility day, I think this could be very good as it will allow us to keep the OTs informed of any changes to the criteria for blue badges, Taxi cards and freedom passes. I am also hoping that it might give us a chance to get soem more contracts.
We are also planning another two course for Ots who are interested in private practice, they will both be in London-it is always easier to seel tickets to an event in London-on September 27th and November 1st-both are saturdays. The price will be £140 per person.
Well we are a bit to busy to do this blog justice at the moment.
We are trying to get some work with "Pathways to work" as feel think OTs are very suited to this type of work. Most of the contract have been awarded and we are doing some of this work in Hampshire. However we would like to expand it and do more. We will have to work quite hard though convincing the tender winners to use us. Some of them seem to be trying to employ OTs direct which is good for the profession at least.
We have held two courses recently about becoming an Indepenent OT and at the course we talked about hwat work there is for OTs. I think there is potentially a lot but lots of people do not know what an OT does and therefore direct advertising does not work-as we have found to our cost! The secret is how to find customers while you are developing your business. We have found Google adwords the best way, but you need a website for this to work.
It is noticeable that local authorities seem to be needing our service a bit more again now after the very painful downturn in the Spring-what is normally our busiest period was not. We have been promised two more contracts over the next week and although amny LAS are still saying that they have waiting list problems but no money, some of them do at least have money now.
Hi everyone
Seems sometime since my last blog entry the absence is due mainly to the school holidays and having just had 2 weeks annual leave. It seems my main memories of this summer are being awash with taxicard renewal forms and the endless rain both hear and in France lets hope we have an indian summer in sept/october!!
Just to say a thank you to Mary (Reece Sheerin) and her husband Andre for letting their newly refurbished gite near Plaville/Carcassonne to us and our friends of which there were a total of 6 adults and 5 children. They have 3 gites, one of 4 bedrooms upstairs with a fabulous balcony overlooking the valley (which unfortunately we did not get much chance to sit out on due to copious amounts of rain during our stay). Two further gites of one bedroom each on the ground floor both wheelchair accessible. The gites are 'swedish/Ikea' in style with white walls, wood floors and ceilings, the furniture is mainly ikea (the beds are very comfortable) it all has a fresh feel about the place. They also do B&B and can provide evening meals to the giters (we had a meal the first night which was v. tasty). They also provide crossiants and homemade bread (exceptionally good) every morning if ordered the evening beforehand. There is a lovely swimming pool which our kids went in everyday despite the rain. There is also is also a 'horsewhisper' across the valley who you can book up to watch train her horse. That was the highlight of my eldest daughters week as she got to ride bareback. The countryside is rolling hills and sunflower fields everywhere, so great for horse riding, walking, cycling. The town of Mirepoux is 15 mins drive away which is v. pretty and has a market every monday. so if you are after some rest and relaxation why not book a week at Mary's gite (La Coume) www.lacoume-gites.com
New contracts - we have been awarded 2 new contracts with Solihull and Southend Social Services so we are looking for OT's to assist with this work. As always with Local Authority contracts there is alot of paperwork, tight deadlines and volume so if this does not phase live in either of these areas and need some extra cash why not give us a call and to speak with Janine who is managing both contracts. If anyone works for any other authorities who are about to go out to tender or there is a desperate need to reduce the waiting list why not call us or get your manager to get in touch. We are very experienced at running LA contracts now and can provide a fast, efficient service to ensure service users get their needs meet efficiently
Screening and assessing taxicard renewals - we are still awash with renewing taxicard applications for applicants in the London Boroughs of Redbridge and Barnet. Some of the applications are very interesting one applicant stated that his granddad was a 'walking stick straightener' can anyone enlighten us! Another was a 98 year old nun we thought she should be allowed to keep her badge! We have developed a new 'screening' tool to enhance the 'automatic eligibility criteria' which is helping the 'Transport for London' staff to process the applications more efficiently and pass onto us only those ones that don't meet the critieria. So the numbers being passed to us have been reduced a little from about 4000 to 3000!. We have been training their staff to raise their awareness of disability and how this affects a person's mobility and using public transport. So if anyone reading this thinks this training would be of benefit to their team please get in touch with us as we may be able to help. Furthermore if anyone reading this is involved in the renewal process of taxicards either screening or assessing applicants we would be pleased to discuss how we can be of service to you.
Government changes to Freedom passes - it seems there are to be some changes to the eligbility criteria for Freedom passes from Jan 08 therefore applicants who are in receipt of a FP will need to be renewed to ensure they meet the new criteria. We have been asked by one borough to put on extra clinics to meet the demand, if there is anyone reading this who is involved in renewals and requires assistance with screening, assessment of eihter FP's or taxicards then please get in touch with us to discuss how we can assist you. mailto:web@londoncouncils.gov.uk
New Mobility clinics - we are setting up another 'mobility assessment clinic' in Merton this time and some of you may have received an email from us to ask if you are interested in running the clinic. If you have not received an email but think you might be available please contact us and ask for Steve or Delia. We are also looking for extra assessors in Lewisham due to the renewal of FP's see above we will be putting on extra clinics from October on weds and thursdays so get in touch.
Training Housing Assocation staff - we have been asked to provide training to HA staff such as letting and technical officers to assist them in promoting independence to their tenants. This is an exciting new service for Access Independent to offer and hope that more Housing Associations will request this service in the future as they are expected to fund more adaptations to tenants in the future. If you work for a Housing Association please do not hesitate to contact us to see if we can be of help to you both in training and assessing your tenants.
Equipment changes - as reported in my blog of 27.07.07 there are changes coming to the community equipment services throughout the UK. It seems that nothing will happen until next year but it is best to be aware. I have recently had an interesting chat wiht Peggy Frost at COT HQ who is very keen to hear your views on this subject. They are very aware that these changes will have a huge impact on the role of OT's mainly working within physical setting especially those of you working in the community. It goes without saying that the changes will bring about some drastic changes for some services but it is hoped that new opportunities will present themselves in the areas of training to retail staff , service users, their carers, other professionals who maybe involved in issuing equipment. If you are involved in any aspects and require training on equipment, mobility vehicles etc why not get in touch.
3rd sector - we continue to get a steady flow of referrals from charities due to LA's tightening their criteria. alot of charities such as the British Legion now rely heavily on recommendations from OT's to ensure they fund only items that are 'necessary and appropriate'. There has been a big change in emphasis from being able to purchase items that are desirable where LA won't fund to having to be stricter about what is appropriate. As more service users turn to charities for funding so resources and eligibility criteria will need to tighten to meet the ever growing demand and ensure their resources are spent wisely.
Case management - we have recently met with a major Insurance company to assist them with the growing demand for OT assessments. This particular company already have OT's working as Rehab Co ordinaters to oversee the requirements of the claimants are met sufficiently. Therefore there are times when an OT will be required to carry out an assessment so if you have neuro, hand, vocational and/or rehab expertise we may be in touch. Watch this space!
Moving into the private sector - with some many changes afoot many OT's seem to be moving out of public sector in to independent practise. This is a big step and takes alot of courage, we have now been going to 4 years and have learnt alot along the way. That is why we thought it would be very beneficial to impart our knowledge to others so you can learn from our mistakes! We are running 2 courses in September in Derby on Monday the 24th of september and in London on 28th so if you are in this position and wish to book on either course please let us know. furthermore if you want some expert advise why not book a mentoring session with us to discuss any aspects of running your own practise. I think it is often very beneficial to run issues past another in the business as I am an OT I understand the services being offered. It can be very frustrating trying to explain to some 'bored' sales expert the finer elements of OT and who would benefit. So rather than waste time and money with the so called experts why not book an appt with us instead the cost £60.00 per hour
See you next time!
We have had some new enquiries this week.
First something seems to be happening about Taxi Cards at present as we are regularly being asked about that service in London. We have begun to process the new cases from Barnet and Redbridge and they seem pleased with the new criteria we wrote. That was an interesting decision, as by helping them change thier criteria we reduce the number of cases that come to us-potentially reducing our workload. However the advantage is that it makes it easier for the Local Authority to process the work and hopefully we can ehlp other authorities process Taxi Card applications or re-applications in the future.
We have also had more enquiries from Local Authorities in the South so we are hopeful of at least one more contract in September.
Also the work we are doing on the "Pathways to Work" project is slowly growing as we will be starting in September in Basingstoke. I hear from all the OTs involved in this work that it is a very satisfying job. Lets hope that continues!
It appears to me that we as OT's and other healthcare professionals are going through turblent times with changes afoot at every turn.
I have just attended to Community Equipment Roadshow in Cambridge regarding the proposals the government are setting out to change the face of equipment provision as we know it. I was very surprised by the statistics presented and that the outcome is that most equipment stores are not operating as they should. There is alot of waste, the report identified that only about 30% of equipment in the store is delivered in any one year which seems fairly astounding. Most stores have about 23 FTE employees and therefore 35% of cost is on the staff, rent of building, computers, lighting, telephone bills before one piece of equipment has been issued. Therefore savings and efficiencies have to be made it does seem abit drastic what is being proposed but I can see that as a business ICES are not performing very well at present. I have a friend who is a management consultant and has expereince of business mapping which basically identifies the root of the problem and then comes up with solutions to put things right - sounds like an OT really. Anyway she thought with abit of 'business' processing most of the stores could be turned around to be made into efficient businesses. As I know from running my own business there is always more than one way to look at and solve a problem.
So it appears there are challenging times ahead with alot of speclucation as to whether the changes proposed will be for the better or not. For more information about these proposals go to the DOH website/ICES. Nothing will happen for about 10 months whilst more consultation will be made and no doubts many meetings and discussions will ensue. I have already been in touch with the COT to see what their opinion is on the matter and how they will be supporting all us OT's. I had a very informative conversation with Peggy Frost and she will take my comments forward as and when they know more.
My own thoughts are that this is an exciting, challenging and changing time and could change the role of the OT within Social Service immensely, I hope there will be alot more opportunities for OT's in the independent sector with the need for Independent Assessors and so on as trainers, consultants on equipment etc. Lets hope we can rise to the challenge
Other interesting matters arising, Mira Showers are developing a new shower unit and we have been advising them on the design which was an interesting project spending the morning at the Head Office in Cheltenham looking and advising on styles of levers, controls, shower heads very OT!
We are just starting some work with the 'London councils' (ALG) as they set about reviewing renewals of taxicards for various london boroughs so in the next few months we will be up to our eyes in renewal forms. We are also going to be involved in training of their staff and those who screen applicants for the other mobilty assessment clinics that we run. We are also hoping to start a new clinic in Merton and awaiting the go ahead on several other clinics in the London area.
This week we have been approached by a company looking for Occupational Health Assessors for claimants off sick from work. We will be advising whether applicants are fit to return to work so will be looking for assessors to assist with this project. So anyone looking to increase skills in the vocational rehab area please get in touch.
Before I forget Janine and I went to some bed training at Nexus a couple of weeks ago which was very informative and now we are experts on the different types of profiling beds available. We have put together a fact sheet so anyone who is assessing for profiling beds on our behalf mainly 3rd sector requests will receive a copy of the fact sheet in the future.
I hope not too many of you have been flooded or know of people who have been. We don't seem to have been awash with enquiries, complaints from people! Anyway speak to all again next week whilst I beaver away on all these changes, proposals etc. Watch this space
We are often asked about OTs and self employment and/or being PAYE. Some of the OTs who undertake "One Off" cases for us are PAYE but most of them are self-employed. If you are doing occasional one off cases then really you should be self-employed. You are making your own appointments, using your own car, computer, paper, pen, phone etc. Also as you accept work which is an agreed rate per case you are taking some of the financial risk. These are the type of things that the Inland Revenue look for when deciding if you are self-employed or PAYE. Lastly if you make a mistake on the report we will ask you to put it right and you will of course get no extra payment-again the tax office think that to be truly self-employed you need to be correcting mistakes in your own time. Employees do not have to put their mistakes right in their own time.
So we think that OTs working for us on occassional "One off" cases should be self-employed-you will pay less tax. However we would still advise you to discuss this with your tax office- we cannot give advice that if definite.
