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The British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics

News

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#ϳԹ2019

#ϳԹ2019 will this year be held at Harrogate from the 15-17th March

The Annual Poster and Papers Competitions are also back and open for entrants as are entries for the newCharlie McLaughlin Memorial Fund

For more information please see our

 

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‘Find your health career’

ϳԹ has been working with many organisations to improve careers resources and the awareness of P&O as a profession.

One of the new resources available is‘Find your health career’This is a new section on the national health careers website with a online quiz to help direct people to possible career options in healthcare and P&O is one of the options!

For more information:

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#WeAHPs – Student take over

@WeAHPs () is being taken over by AHP students from the 8thof October for one week to highlight the benefits of social media supported by the HCPC guidance. The week will include discussions to help build a supportive network where students can learn and share ideas as well as ask questions to existing students and professionals.

Additionally, the other topics for the week will include: balancing placement and academic work, well-being/self-care, leadership, networking, taking advantage of opportunities and looking at what it means to be an allied health professional – especially important in the run up to AHP’s Day the following Monday (15th October).

 

Our Aims of the week:

  • Increase student’s confidence in using social media in a positive and professional capacity.
  • Build a strong, inclusive and supportive student and professional network.
  • Learn and share ideas together in an easy and accessible manner.

 

Timetable for the week:

Monday

  • Welcome to the ‘WeCommunities’ and @WeAHPs
  • Introduction of the We Community and how to get started with your own ‘MyWe’
  • Who/what are AHPs
  • Importance of AHPs Day
  • Sharing of ‘Day in the life of a…’ videos from students and staff
  • Evening tweetchat – ‘Who are AHPs and what is AHPs Day about’ – Hosted by @SarahBradder

Tuesday

  • Pros and cons of social media
  • Day time Q&A’s – Your opportunity to ask questions
  • Evening tweetchat – ‘HCPC guidance and social media’ – Hosted by @Julie_bolter

Wednesday

  • Managing workload
  • Videos and infographics from the #150Leaders on their experiences of juggling workload and placements
  • Sharing helpful apps, journaling, organising techniques etc.
  • Discuss students’ biggest fears/concerns starting placement/starting assignments etc

Thursday

  • A day to explore…
    • Introduction to leadership
    • Why network?
    • Do we need to build resilience and if so how?
  • Evening tweetchat – ‘Emotional intelligence and leadership’ – Hosted by @puppyflanagan

Friday

  • Celebration of AHP students’ achievements
  • More about AHPs Day
  • Discussions, videos and tweets about students’ experiences of extra curriculum opportunities
  • Sign-posting to opportunities for students
  • Evening tweetchat – ‘Opportunities available for students: where to find them and how to make the most of them’ – Hosted by

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#AHPDay

WHAT:

AHP day is a social movement and an appreciation day for the 14 Allied Health Professions. It is a chance to celebrate and promote the work of AHPs throughout the country

There are 14 AHPs and together they make up the 3rd largest workforce in the NHS. The 14 professions are:

Arts Therapists, Drama Therapists, Dietitians, Music Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Operating Department Practitioners, Orthoptists, Osteopaths, Paramedics, Podiatrists, Physiotherapists, Radiographers, Speech and Language Therapists and of course us Prosthetists & Orthotists

WHEN:

AHP Day will happen on Monday 15th October throughout the UK and can be celebrated by anyone – not just AHPs!

HOW:

You can celebrate and be involved in #AHPday in any way you like and there are many ideas on how to get involved with #AHPday on social media but to get started and to help our members promote P&O ϳԹ have produced a series of free downloadable publicity documents including posters, bunting and our careers guide. Look at our resources tab under

We also have a very limited number of “I’m a Prosthetist/Orthotist” T-shirts available to members if you are running a publicity stand or event – please ring the secretariat to register for one before they all run out!

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I See the Difference Campaign

I See the Difference campaign launches to inspire a new generation of allied health professionals

We are delighted to welcome the launch of the I See the Difference campaign, which will raise awareness of our profession and promote careers in Prosthetics & Orthotics. The focus of the campaign will be on the connections allied health professionals make with people, and the job satisfaction these connections bring.

 

The campaign has been developed bythe British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists in partnership with the College of Podiatry, the Society and College of Radiographers and the British and Irish Orthoptics Society.

 

At the heart of the campaign is a new digital hub – which includes lots of helpful information about our profession, alongside a social media campaign that will be visible on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – follow it via #ISeeTheDifference. The digital campaign will be backed up by outreach activities at schools and careers events around the country.

 

The campaign is part of the Strategic Interventions in Health Education Disciplines (SIHED) programme, a £3m, three-year initiative to help build the sustainability of the Allied Health Professions, with a focus on the four smaller professions of orthoptics, podiatry, prosthetics and orthotics and therapeutic radiography.

 

Campaign materials will be available for members to download and share on their social media feeds, and we’re calling on all members to get involved in the campaign, to shout loud and proud about our great professions and help us to inspire more talented people to choose careers in the Allied Health Professions.

For more information about the SIHED programme, head over to the Office for Students dedicatedor contact ϳԹ.

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Charcot-Marie-Tooth Awareness Month 2018

Charity calls on Orthotists to help it find the missing 20,000!

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Awareness Month 2018

 

Charcot Marie Tooth UK isA charity that supports people with the little known, genetic, neurological disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) is using its September CMT Awareness Month 2018 to raise awareness of the condition and its symptoms among orthotists

Leading neurological expert, Professor Mary Reilly, estimates around 23,000 people in the UK have CMT, which can cause uncontrollable pain, chronic fatigue anddeformities in the hands, lower legs and feet, leading to balance problems and falls. The charity, Charcot-Marie-Tooth UK only knows of 3,000 with the condition and believes that some of the 20,000 remaining are still undiagnosed and suffering in silence – it is asking orthotists to help find them.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth is named after the three scientists who discovered it. Steadily progressive, it causes muscle weakness and wasting in the lower legs and feet, leading to problems like hammer toes, restricted mobility, and uncontrollable pain. The hands and fingers are also affected, making tasks needing fine motor skills, such as fastening shoe laces and buttons, very difficult. Although CMT is not life-threatening, for many, it will impact on and significantly reduce the quality of their lives, with some people even ending up as wheelchair users.

CMT UK’s chief operating officer, Karen Butcher said: “People with undiagnosed CMT may have been referred to an orthotist and we would really like them to be more aware of CMT so patients can get a quicker diagnosis if the GP has missed it.

One of our members was only diagnosed two years ago at the age of 78, having gone through most of her life never knowing why she was always in pain and tripping up and falling; she is only getting the help she needs now, at this late stage.

Orthotists should look out for patients presenting with corns, callouses or hard skin on their feet, which comes about when people have to walk on a different part of their foot due to muscle wastage in the legs. There could also be a change of shape in the foot such as a high arch or flat foot and hammer or claw toes. Patients may also mention other classic signs of CMT such as clumsiness, pain, balance problems leading to unsteadiness, trips and falls and chronic fatigue.

These signs don’t necessarily mean the patient has CMT, but it is a good indication and if CMT is suspected, then they should be told to visit their GP who can refer them to a neurologist who is able to undertake a full assessment, including nerve conduction tests, to make a diagnosis.

While CMT is currently incurable, early, accurate diagnosis can improve the lives of those with the condition as it can be managed more effectively, and proper genetic counselling can be received so the risks to the next generation can be learned.

We would also appreciate it if orthotists would refer anyone with CMT to our charity so we can offer advice on how to manage the condition as well as information on benefits, jobs and family issues.

Professor of Clinical Neurology and Consultant Neurologist at UCLH, Mary Reilly, is also Patron of Charcot-Marie-Tooth UK. She explains: “CMT has many different characteristics, but commonly there is weakening and loss of muscle and reduced sensation, predominantly in the feet and legs, but also in the hands and arms in the advanced stages of disease. These lead to a range of orthopaedic complications, leading to a variety of mobility and dexterity problems, and sometimes scoliosis.

CMT does not describe a single disorder, but a group of conditions. It is important to determine exactly what kind of CMT someone has, in order to improve their quality of life and this can only be done once a diagnosis is considered in a patient. Anecdotal evidence from CMT UK tells us this takes much longer than we would like and many people put up with CMT for a long time thinking they are clumsy or have funny feet, suffering in silence when they could be receiving help and support.

As a Professor of Clinical Neurology, whose main clinical and research interest is inherited neuropathies like CMT, I have first-hand experience of how useful and critical the input from Charcot-Marie-Tooth UK is to this patient community. The charity provides an excellent information resource for patients and everyone we see in the clinic is given its details to access its literature, website resources and online discussion forums.”

Charcot-Marie-Tooth UK offers advice on how to manage the condition as well as support with benefits, jobs and family issues. It says that while CMT is currently incurable, it can be managed effectively, so the right referrals to the right clinicians are crucial to improve the lives of those with the condition and proper genetic counselling should be received so the risks to the next generation can be learned.

CMT Awareness Month is being launched by charity Charcot-Marie-Tooth UK on Saturday 1 September 2018. Last year, the campaign received an unexpected boost when former Girls Aloud star, Cheryl Tweedy, posted on Instagram about the condition, which affects her friend’s son.

Find out more at or contact 0300 323 6316

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NIHR Roadshow

 

NIHR Academy Roadshow
Wednesday 19 September 2018
Cosmopolitan Hotel, Lower Briggate, Leeds
13.00 to 15.00

The new NIHR Fellowships and Academy &The NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre, supported by the Research Design Service ishosting information events about the new NIHR Academy and the changes to the NIHRFellowship programme.
This session is for individuals who are planning to apply or thinking of applying for aresearch fellowship.

There will be presentations from the NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre about the changes to the programme, and the RDS Yorkshire and the Humber about the supportavailable for potential applicants. The session will include information about:
• Changes to the NIHR Fellowships programme,
• Launch of the NIHR Academy
• Information about the support available to applicants
• Q&A discussion.

The event will take place on Wednesday 19 September 2018 at the Cosmopolitan Hotelin central Leeds. Refreshments will be available from 13.00 and the session will runfrom 13.30 to 15.00. Please register in advance for a
If you have any questions, please contact Rose Cliff r.cliff@sheffield.ac.uk or on 0114 222 0828

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Prosthetic & Orthotic Review – One Year On

In 2015/16 NHS England published the reportthis identified several areas of improvement and suggested some work streams to allow the services to improve. In 2017Health Education England (HEE) created a response which outlines their plan for improvement.

One year on from this response HEE in collaboration with ϳԹ have produced a document outlining the work that has been completed and new actions for the years to come.

Please take a look at the documents by clicking the links above andFor more information on the project see the

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Research Course – Yorkshire & Humber

 

Doyou work in Yorkshire & Humber region with NHS patients? Are you interested in learning more about research? If so this course could be for you!

For more information take a look at the application form and details below:

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Bulletin Aug 2018

ϳԹ’s August 2018 Email Bulletin

Short Courses

Need to improve your Anatomy knowledge?

Learn by seeing rather than a dusty book then this is your unique opportunity?

ϳԹ in collaboration with HARC is proud to offer you the chance to attend two short courses that combine work in the anatomy lab and revision in the classroom.

Anatomy – Upper Limb & Spinal Prosection

7th September – HARC Liverpool

Anatomy – Fresh Frozen Dissection

20th/21st November – HARC Liverpool

Also available to book now:

Orthotic Treatment of Stroke – A Biomechanical Approach to Motor Learning

20th October – Peacocks Medical, Newcastle

BOOK NOW AS SPACES ARE LIMITED!

We are planning on running 2 MSK courses, in October and November – We are looking for venues/locations. If you haven’t attended an MSK yet and would like to, please contact us so we can determine which is the best location.

 

P&O Outreach Officer Recruited

Ali Woodhouse started with ϳԹ as part of the SIHED programme to market prosthetics and orthotics in the UK to prospective students.

Ali has visited NHS and commercial prosthetic and orthotic clinics in Scotland and London and met with the programme lead and head of school at Salford University. She is working with the other profession outreach officers and marketing company to develop a marketing campaign for P&O in the UK. See issue 3 of ϳԹConnect for more details.
Case Studies Requested from Public Health England

Public Health England are looking for case studies from AHP’s who have completed a project or local initiative focused on improving population health and reducing health inequalities.

We would love to capture the great work you are doing to include as part of the AHP Public Health strategy impact report.

Contact: sammer.tang@phe.gov.uk to enquire or see his tweet for more information, including case study template.
SIHED Programme Recruit P&O Practice Placement and Apprenticeship Development Post

ϳԹ would like to welcome Dr Beverley Durrant in her new role at Salford University to increase the workforce capacity for P&O practice placements, aligning traditional degree level education with contemporary degree level apprenticeships. We look forward to working with you this year.

See Issue 3 ϳԹConnect for the full press release.

 

Launch of NHS England MSK Framework

Skills for Health with Health Education England, NHS England, Public Health England and the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance ( ARMA ) have launched a new framework aimed at practitioners who will be the first point of contact for people with musculoskeletal conditions. Please click

#AHPDay 15th October

Get Involved!

Calling all P&O’s to have a look at their local Trust and see what’s happening on 15th October, 2018 and get involved. Plans are coming together at a national and local level. ϳԹ has committed to support this initiative and have created marketing materials for our members to promote AHP’s and P&O.

Contact the ϳԹ office with your local plans and see what we can do to help. 0141 561 7217

 

Prosthetic Service Review

NHS England is responsible for planning and buying specialised services for people who need complex disability equipment. This includes all major upper and lower limb amputees and people with congenital limb deficiencies who have a potential to use prosthesis to help them mobilise or improve upper limb function.

As part of the review into specialised prosthetics services, we held two meetings in June with staff working in prosthetics centres across the country, to understand issues with current service provision that we need to address. There was a strong consensus on the key hopes for the review – and over the next few months NHS England will be setting out what we need to do to start achieving these outcomes in the next three years.

• All patients should have equal access to high quality care.

• We need consistent guidelines and equitable policies that are transparently applied and monitored.

• We need to have a payment system that fairly recompenses activity, where money follows the patient.

• Success should be measured by outcomes and patient satisfaction, rather than activity.

We would now like to explore some of the issues that have been raised to better understand views and experiences of patients and carers, and we have set up a patient survey so that people can share their feedback with us. The survey is open until 19 September 2018. Please do share this link with other people you feel may be willing to tell us about their experience using prosthetics services.

In addition we would be happy to discuss these questions with patient groups – so if you are holding a group over the next few months, or have ideas how we can engage with patients and carers, please do let us know by contacting the team at england.npoc-trauma@nhs.net

 

Launch of NICE into Action webinar series for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)

Evaluating, improving and evidencing the impact of AHP services in health, care and wellbeing is a priority for AHPs into Action (link below), so I’m delighted to share the launch of our NICE into Action webinars.

This series of four webinars from NHS Improvement, NICE and NHS England will help AHPs to:

  • understand and engage with NICE’s work
  • influence guideline development
  • take structured approaches to implementing guidelines and using quality standards
  • support greater uptake of NICE guidance to improve care and outcomes for patients and service-users.

 

For links and more information see the

 

Workforce profile of all AHP’s across North of England

Based in the North of England? – please take 5 mins to complete the survey below

Manchester Metropolitan University are working on a project with Health Education England that will result in the development of a workforce profile of allAllied Health Professionsacross theNorth of England. This will help HEE and its partners to support effective workforce planning to address shortages in AHP and to capitalise on the opportunities the AHP workforce can bring.

As part of this study, we are conductingan online survey to capture the views ofAHPs themselves. This survey poses a number of questions about different areas of your working life and experiences of working within your profession. Please help us with this important piece of research to ensure that the views of your AHP profession are heard.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

If you would like any further information about this project, please contact Dr Sarah Crozier s.crozier@mmu.ac.uk

 
Multi-professional Perspectives of Assessment and Management of Paediatric Flat Foot

 

I am writing on behalf of my MSc Pre-Registration Podiatry students from University of Brighton. MSc Pre-Registration Podiatry Students from University of Brighton are undertaking a survey looking at multi-professional perspectives of assessment and management of paediatric flat foot. They are looking for paediatric physiotherapists, orthotists and podiatrists to complete the survey.

 

It is a short survey which will take about 15 minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous and will not involve the collection of any personal information. The survey has been approved by the School of the Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee.

 
MSc Research Project about AHPs

Please could you complete the below survey for Christina Goulaki;

My name is Christina Goulaki. On the background of being a qualified Speech & Language Therapist, I am currently an MSc Management with Human Resource Management student at Birkbeck, University of London.

I am in the process of completing my research project. My project aims to study the ways in which Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in the NHS perceive their role in Human Resource Management – a role that entails a range of non-clinical responsibilities (e.g. recruitment, performance management) which often increase as an AHP’s career progresses within the Service.