Have you read Andy
Burnham’s speech to The Kings Fund? As shadow health secretary he is setting
out his ideas for the NHS and an integrated health and social care system.
Mr Burnham’s views on
the healthcare system are food for thought and some of the values expressed
might be considered to align with OT principles. Here at SHOUT we are strictly
non-political, so this post does not back The Opposition’s position on health
and social care reform nor undermine the current Government’s attempts to
streamline the NHS and deal with huge costs. The Government may have received
criticism of its spending cuts, and the creation of a (possibly) more
commercial healthcare system, but we must also remember that Andy Burnham was
in government during the time of the Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal. It
stands us in good stead to be balanced when we read political speeches and
apply the critical appraisal skills we are learning at university to political
rhetoric.
However, there are
ideas in the speech that some OT students may find interesting and resonate
with our principles of holism, personhood and choice. In the light of the Mid
Staffs scandal of systemic failure, profits before patients and a culture of
bullying and neglect, putting people first seems sensible to help us move away
from
“…a 20th century production-line model, with a tendency to
see the immediate problem – the broken hip, the stroke – but not the
whole-person behind it.”
Essentially, the
client-centred model.
Our OT approach of
treating the whole person - their social, physical and mental health needs -
might be truly realised in Burnham's idea of an integrated health and social
care system:
“…one
service co-ordinating all of one person’s needs: physical, mental and social.
Whole-Person Care.”
Many people would
like to see an NHS more responsive to people's needs. Rapid response teams are
already on the front line, helping people with urgent needs to prevent hospital
admissions and the speech holds up an example of effective occupational therapy
in Torbay:
"Occupational
Therapists visit homes the same day or the day after they are requested; urgent
aids and adaptations supplied in minutes not days."
Burnham seems to
point to an expanding role for OTs in preventative health and helping people
stay independent at home:
"A
service that starts with what people want – to stay comfortable at home – and
is built around them."
His vision is of a
health and social care service that is cohesive, that moves away from the
medical model and puts the person at the centre. But how would he make
that a reality and could it be funded? Browse the speech... see what you think.
We are the future of
the NHS. We are all passionate about being part of an institution that is key
to our country's health and wellbeing. But we need more than education and
desire. We need to be able to ask questions, to be challenged. We need to
engage with the changing health and social care landscape and policy, and be
inspired to be the best we can be in representing and advocating for our
profession.
Are you happy with
the way the NHS is currently operating? Are there any areas you’d like to see
changed? And what do you think could be done about it?
Maybe you really
loved your placement and feel that the NHS is working incredibly well –
having hands on practice with patients or clients, or seeing good MDT working,
can be a beautiful thing!
What would you like
to see happen over the next few years to deliver best patient care and have
satisfaction in your job as an OT?
Let’s start talking
about health and social care...
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