scholarly journals Facilitating integrated delivery of services across organisational boundaries: Essential enablers to integration

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 302-309
Author(s):  
Stephanie Best
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Leadership Communication ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Integration Of Services ◽  
Integrated Delivery

Introduction Integrating services is a key tenet to developing services across the United Kingdom. While many aspects of integration have been explored, how to facilitate integration of services remains unclear. Method An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken in 2015 to explore occupational therapists’ perceptions on integrating service provision across health and social care organisational boundaries. The views of practitioners who had experienced integration were sought on a range of aspects of integrating services. This paper focuses on the facilitators for delivering integration and the essential enablers are identified. Findings Numerous factors were noted to facilitate integration and three essential enablers were highlighted. Leadership, communication and joint education were recognised as playing a central role in integrating services across organisational boundaries; without these three essential enablers, integration is liable to fail. Conclusion Integration is a process rather than an event; continued emphasis will be required on leadership, communication and joint education to progress integration achievements made to date.

scholarly journals Is the rise of crowdfunding for medical expenses in the United Kingdom symptomatic of systemic gaps in health and social care?

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Pifarré Coutrot ◽  
Richard Smith ◽  
Laura Cornelsen
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Health Service Provision ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health And Social Care

Crowdfunding for medical care is a new phenomenon but increasingly used by individuals to seek financial help to cover the costs of health care. Ethical concerns have been raised about medical crowdfunding, including implications for equity, resource allocation, medical decision-making, the promotion of non-evidence based therapies, platforms’ lack of transparency and corporate interests. Medical crowdfunding efforts may point to shortcomings in health service provision, but they tend to have wider motivations and implications. However, there is no firm evidence base for establishing answers to even the most basic questions, such as who is seeking funds, for what, where and why. In this Essay, we provide an introduction to medical crowdfunding in the United Kingdom (UK). We synthesize what is currently known and the insights that might be gained from an exploratory review of 400 medical crowdfunding campaigns on the GoFundMe UK website: for instance, whether medical crowdfunding occurs in response to gaps in service provision, supports ‘queue jumping’ and how it relates to ‘medical tourism’. We conclude with a call for research on medical crowdfunding in the UK (and elsewhere) as a means to better understand patients’ perceived or actual unmet need for health and social care and inform policy development.

scholarly journals Occupational therapists’ experiences of enabling people to participate in sport

2020 ◽  
pp. 030802262097394
Author(s):  
Deborah Bullen ◽  
Channine Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Scope Of Practice ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Health And Social Care

Introduction In response to growing demands on health and social care services there is an emphasis on communities addressing the needs of local populations to improve lives and reduce inequalities. Occupational therapists are responding to these demands by expanding their scope of practice into innovative settings, such as working with refugees, the homeless and residents of nursing homes, and within sport and leisure environments. The benefits of sport are widely acknowledged, and this paper argues that occupational therapists could play a pivotal role in enabling people to participate. Method This qualitative study drew on a phenomenological approach and used interviews and thematic analysis to explore five occupational therapists’ experiences of enabling people to participate in sport. Findings Findings revealed that participants demonstrated the uniqueness of occupational therapy when enabling people to participate in sport and practised according to their professional philosophy. There were opportunities to reach wider communities and promote the value of occupational therapy by collaborating with organisations, but there were also challenges when working outside of traditional settings. Conclusion The study emphasises the unique skills occupational therapists can bring to this setting. It highlights opportunities to expand their practice, to forge new partnerships in sports and leisure environments, and to address the national inactivity crisis.

A Survey of Current Occupational Therapy Practice for Parkinson's Disease in the United Kingdom

2003 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
K H O Deane ◽  
C Ellis-Hill ◽  
K Dekker ◽  
P Davies ◽  
C E Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Postgraduate Training ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health And Social Care

Little is known about the current character of occupational therapy practice for Parkinson's disease in the United Kingdom. The study aimed to document this in order to inform plans for a future multicentre randomised controlled trial. Two hundred and forty-two occupational therapists that treated people with Parkinson's disease were sent a questionnaire regarding demographics, service organisation and therapy content. One hundred and sixty-nine occupational therapists (70%) responded. They had worked with people with Parkinson's disease for a median of 6 years and personally treated a median of 15 people with Parkinson's disease annually. Most (86%) were at senior grade or above; 87% worked in the National Health Service and 12% in social services. Forty per cent worked in specialist Parkinson's disease clinics. Most (79%) felt that they needed more specialist postgraduate training. Occupational therapists are employed in both health and social care settings. The character of the occupational therapy is often determined by the location in which it is provided. Current occupational therapy appears to focus on functional activities rather than on the wider social and psychological aspects of occupation. Many occupational therapists felt that they needed more specialist postgraduate training to treat people with Parkinson's disease effectively.

scholarly journals Modernising social care services for older people: scoping the United Kingdom evidence base

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
SALLY JACOBS ◽  
CHENGQIU XIE ◽  
SIOBHAN REILLY ◽  
JANE HUGHES ◽  
DAVID CHALLIS
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Care For Older People

ABSTRACTIn common with other developed countries at the end of the 20th century, modernising public services was a priority of the United Kingdom (UK) Labour administration after its election in 1997. The modernisation reforms in health and social care exemplified their approach to public policy. The authors were commissioned to examine the evidence base for the modernisation of social care services for older people, and for this purpose conducted a systematic review of the relevant peer-reviewed UK research literature published from 1990 to 2001. Publications that reported descriptive, analytical, evaluative, quantitative and qualitative studies were identified and critically appraised under six key themes of modernisation: integration, independence, consistency, support for carers, meeting individuals' needs, and the workforce. This paper lists the principal features of each study, provides an overview of the literature, and presents substantive findings relating to three of the modernisation themes (integration, independence and individuals' needs). The account provides a systematic portrayal both of the state of social care for older people prior to the modernisation process and of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the evidence base. It suggests that, for evidence-based practice and policy to become a reality in social care for older people, there is a general need for higher quality studies in this area.

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