A professional body is only as good as the professional community it serves, and so our achievements are a direct reflection of your individual, and collective, efforts on behalf of the profession we all hold so dear.
Time for me to pause for breath and look back over the last year, in order to share with you some of our achievements; and what a year it’s been for your professional body.
The award of Royal status, while not welcomed by some individuals, has made a huge difference to many of our members in terms of their own professional standing within their multi-disciplinary teams. And more than that, it has put the College on a different footing with a range of stakeholders, evidenced by the increasing number of external requests for occupational therapy representation received at HQ from a raft of external agencies.
We always seek to say ‘yes’ to such invitations and are grateful to those members who act as RCOT representatives when we cannot; being seen and heard ‘around the table’ is so important for the profession’s profile and standing, as well as for those we seek to serve.
To give you an idea, requests received include invitations to:
- join a CQC expert external reference group;
- meet with workforce agencies; join apprenticeship working groups;
- speak at numerous events;
- and to be part of a host of advisory groups.
This year there have already been 103 requests received, compared with 83 at this point last year. Talk about being victims of our own success.
And aside from all that, the work on our Occupational Therapy: Improving Lives, Saving Money campaign has increased at pace, with four reports produced to date, and further work on other significant areas of occupational therapy practice already in train. What has been so key to these pieces of work is the impact that they have had for the profession as a whole, as well as for individual therapists, who have felt empowered by the cost saving data made available to speak with confidence about the services they provide. The campaign has also been supported by new practice guidelines, which serve to ensure we all strive to deliver high quality, evidence based services.
The new Career Development Framework is another product we are delighted to have delivered to our members; a tool that guides our careers and our learning and development, whether we are just starting out in a career in health or social care, or work at the highest level of our organisations.
Indeed, its breadth has been noted by other organisations which are keen to replicate its format for their own professions. And as well as all this, we kicked off our RCOT Research and Development Review with a symposium of invited guests, all of whom were prepared to help ensure we set occupational therapy research on the right track going forwards. And of course, while all the new tools and guides are produced, the day-to-day work of serving members well, being the voice of the profession, and ensuring a sustainable business model is ongoing.
Much of my time over the last year has been spent out and about, meeting with members across the four countries. I am truly grateful to all those who arranged and hosted meetings, so that I could hear members’ views about what the Royal College should focus on for the next five years.
Grateful thanks are also due to all those who joined in the discussion via email; there have been strong areas of consensus, as well as widely diverging opinions, but with 32,000 members, that is hardly a surprise. It is now for council to agree the next set of strategic intentions, which will cover the period October 2018 through to September 2023.
We at the Royal College really appreciate your involvement in the work we do. I recognise that sometimes getting involved adds additional strain to already busy and demanding lives, but without your input and support we would be so much worse off.
As I have said before, a professional body is only as good as the professional community it serves, and so our achievements are a direct reflection of your individual, and collective, efforts on behalf of the profession we all hold so dear.
As ever, I will close by wishing you all a relaxing break and a peaceful and happy holiday. You all deserve our thanks and our respect, as well as some time to recharge, and for those that will be working over the Christmas period, we send heartfelt thanks for ensuring our citizens continue to benefit from occupational therapy services, and we hope that you enjoy your own rest period whenever it falls.
