OT Week and The Impact of COVID-19: Pat Troth - Adult Social Care

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all in ways we couldn’t have imagined back when the first lockdown started in March. Over that last 7-8 months, we have all come together as a community to learn how to adapt and to cope with the stresses that the virus has put onto our everyday ‘normal’ lives.

As we adjust into the ‘new normal’ (again), and to mark the start of OT Week, I, along with my expert OT team at Julie Jennings and Associates, have reflected on how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected our work, and what we are doing to make sure we continue providing our vital services safely to those who need it most.

Across OT Week we will be highlighting each of the individual roles we undertake, to give a broader picture of life as an OT during the pandemic.

Name: Pat Troth

Area of work: In my role I undertake Medico-Legal assessment and produce accompanying reports.

Background experience: Working in hospital settings, but principally community OT in a wide range of roles.

Impact of COVID-19 on working practice or your personal perspective

I have found that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on me on both personally and professionally.

Personally, I found the initial enforced lockdown with reduced face to face contacts and access to the community quite difficult to deal with – more so as the time progressed.  I found that it impacted upon my usual ability to organise my time and maintain motivation to begin and/or complete tasks plus some general lowering of mood.

From a professional point of view it was not possible to undertake face to face assessments, and I have learnt to make more use of video calls and technology where necessary. I have found that although video assessments can be effectively used for individuals with lesser disabilities there are some cases where face to face/environmental assessments are necessary. CPD opportunities have become more accessible via webinars and Zoom.

Your OT perspective and what you can do to positive influence challenges imposed by the pandemic

As the lockdown eased, our professional guidelines for assessments/visits to clients changed to include an extended pre-visit telephone call to gather as much information as possible and therefore minimise any face to face contact.  I have found this to be helpful in both “breaking the ice” with clients before meeting them and also helped with the information gathering process - providing a more accurate and complete assessment.

The increased use of technology has provided increased opportunities for both OT learning and sharing of information, and gives increased flexibility for meetings and conferences without the need to leave one’s desk. This is both cheaper and “greener” and frees up more time for patient care.

Your commitments to support the recovery of People that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

I have been regularly reading articles on-line and in our professional journal on the impact of COVID-19 on individuals, particularly the effects and treatment modalities of long COVID-19 that can persist for many months. I am endeavouring to learn as much as possible about the difficulties patients can experience both physical and mental, to enable me to apply  the appropriate knowledge both on a personal level and in a professional capacity.