Posted on: 3 February 2021
Rob Clarke, Head of Camden Long Term Conditions, shares us his experience of being redeployed:
I’ve been an OT for 26 years now and the vast amount of that time was spent in neuro. This was a mixture of acute, including ICU, community, rehab units, stroke/neuro wards and much in-between. This was predominantly in the NHS but I have also had spells in the private and voluntary sectors.
The last time I was on an NHS ward, we still sent faxes, most beds were operated by a peddle, therapists carried their own notes and PDD meant, pervasive developmental disorder and was rarely used. It was quite a while ago. However, allowing for individual differences a stroke is still a stroke; a subluxed shoulder presents the same as do apraxia, high tone, neglect, hemianopia and all the rest of the neuro impairments familiar to me. I actually felt very comfortable one on one with the patients, even with the pee and poo. Sadly, this wasn’t the case with the processes, systems and terminology attached to these. This is where my learning had to happen and happen quickly.
Rob, in his light blue scrubs.
I count myself fortunate to be placed amongst a group of therapists on Oakwood, who knew the stuff I didn’t know very well. I’m still learning the processes and systems and the team I’m with are supportive and unflappable. The additional challenge is that every borough has differing processes, procedures and expectations. In this respect, if you are only working with Camden patients, count yourself lucky.
Some of the more humorous things on the ward:
- To me, ‘doctor, doctor’ (me) ‘I’m one of the therapists, an OT’, ‘OK thanks doctor’.
- On a home visit to a large family home with a patient, about 10 people present, (me) ‘do you mind putting on masks or leaving the room before I come in?’ Daughter then grabs air freshener and sprays everywhere and tells me it’s ok now.
- Orientation question to a patient, ‘can you tell me where you are please’ (patient) ‘sitting opposite you’
My experience of being redeployed is that no one expects 100% on day one and being in a supportive team goes a long way to making each day a little bit easier. But remember the team around you don’t know what you don’t know – so don’t be afraid to ask. Of course, my substantive role hasn’t gone away and I’m aware that that work is accumulating. However, I’m fortunate again to have manager and a group of talented Clinical Leads keeping watch – thanks to them all. So, I’ve booked some AL and I’m hopefully off to Iceland in February. If that goes well, probably looking at Asda in March and Sainsbury’s in April… 😊
On reflection I have learnt quite a few things in the past weeks. Unless you have worked on a ward some of them may seem minor but knowing which coloured bag to put things in, knowing where those bags should now go, and knowing where to find new bags is really quite essential. The game of hide and seek with patient’s notes, trying to find a free stand-aid, tracking down that missing footplate or finding XXL netty underwear become commonplace activities. When therapy sessions are generally back to back, this can have a knock-on effect on the rest of your day. Rarely are we on time but we do manage to see all our scheduled patients.
The task ahead for us all is huge, we all face challenges that we have never faced before, both in and out of work and of course Covid isn’t going to just vanish. With most challenges we face we can visualise an end and we know what to do to get to the end. To paraphrase OT parlance, Covid is very definitely not “a Just Right Challenge”. In reflection I realise that I’m not trying to get to an end point with this challenge and that I break down each activity, each demand and everyday into individual steps or actions that I can achieve. So, each patient, each meeting, each commute and almost each everything else I achieve becomes a success. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time’. For me, never has this been truer. This is the key learning point for me.