Royal College of Occupational Therapists project with Public Health England:
Health and Work Champions – next stage of recruitment
1st June to 31st July 2017
The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and Public Health England (PHE) supported by the Council for Work and Health are carrying out a project in which 25 occupational therapists and others across England have become Health and Work Champions. They are using peer to peer education training sessions to encourage their NHS colleagues to routinely ask working age adults about their employment aspirations. We are now ready to train an additional 50 Health and Work Champions and would welcome applicants from a broad range of professional backgrounds.
Recruitment is open from the 1st June 2017 until the 31st July 2017. Successful candidates will have to attend two days of training on either the 7th or 25th of September 2017 and on either the 8th or 15th December in London.
The RCOT, PHE and many other professional associations understand that health care professionals are instrumental in giving the service users they work with the skills, belief and confidence to make the adaptations needed to remain in or return to work. In order to increase the profile of this role we are seeking to expand the project to train two new cohorts of Health and Work Champions, 50 in total to build on the excellent work already being delivered.
Health and Work Champions aim to bring about culture change in the NHS so that work is regarded as a valid and legitimate aspect of good care; that it is routinely enquired about in consultations and that brief advice or onward referral is carried out for further employment support as required. Health and Work Champions deliver a standardised training package to work colleagues in their employing NHS organisation which targets doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.
Current Health and Work Champions work in NHS organisations in England and have the agreement of their employer to act in this voluntary role and deliver training to staff groups in their Trusts. The current organisations that are supporting staff to act in this role are:
• Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust
• Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
• Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
• Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
• Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust
• North East London NHS Foundation Trust
• Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
• Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
• West London Mental Health NHS Trust
• South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
• Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
• Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust
• Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
RCOT are holding the next stage of recruitment from 1st June to the 31st July 2017.
Applicants need to send an up to date CV, covering statement saying how they meet the requirements of the volunteer role description and a statement from their employer indicating their support.
Successful applicants will be notified in August and will attend a day’s training on either the 7th or 25th of September 2017 and a follow up day on either the 8th or 15th December in London. Applicants should indicate which would be their preferred September and December training dates. Reasonable travel expenses for these two days will be paid. They will then be expected to deliver training locally and collect feedback information about their training sessions.
Please send applications by the 31st July to Ashleigh.Watkins@cot.co.uk. The volunteer role description is available from the RCOT websire here.
RCOT, PHE and the Council for Work and Health are keen to recruit from a wide range of professionals including occupational health doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals. This is a great opportunity to show leadership and expertise in the area of work across the whole NHS and we would encourage your application over the summer. Due to funding this role is currently only open to applicants from England. If the results of the evaluation by Salford University due in October 2017 are favourable, we may be able to extend this role further in the future.