NCCH X RCOT Creative OT Webinar

Broadcast on Monday 31st October 2022, in this interactive webinar we demonstrated the profession’s role in working creatively in and with the creative sector to address people’s health and care in innovative ways, we showcased several successful examples highlighting the opportunities that exist for the OT profession in and beyond statutory (NHS and Social Care) services. Hosted in collaboration with The Royal College of Occupational Therapists, the National Centre for Creative Health and UCL's MASc in Creative Health, who share the aim of supporting the development of an informed workforce to meet the growing demand for Creative Health programmes and activities. This webinar allowed attendees to generate new ideas and contacts and to help them think differently about addressing the factors that influence people’s needs, including the wider determinants of health.

The past decade has seen an increasing interest in the role for Creative Health in promoting health, as well as in the prevention, management and treatment of illness across the life-course, and its potential to mitigate some of the challenges facing the health, social care and wider systems. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing report “Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing” provides a comprehensive overview of the field, documenting over 1000 studies of the arts supporting health and wellbeing.

‘Creative Health’ refers to creative approaches and activities which have benefits for our health and wellbeing. Activities may include visual and performing arts, crafts, film, literature as well as creative activities in nature; approaches may involve creative and innovative ways to approach health and care services, co-production, education and workforce development.

Based on the belief that meaningful activity engagement is essential to human flourishing, Occupational Therapists have actively engaged with this approach since the establishment of the profession. It has been 15 years since a review commissioned by Lord Nigel Crisp, at the time NHS Chief Executive, stated “arts and heath are, and should be firmly recognised as being integral to health, healthcare provision and healthcare environments” (DOH, 2007).

Although progress has been made, the present state of the UK’s health and wellbeing cries out for more sustainable approaches to tackling health need and inequalities. OTs have a vital role to play in meeting these challenges.

Agenda and Speakers Biographies - https://ncch.org.uk/uploads/NCCH-X-RC...

Speakers Included:
• Marcus Janusz (OT, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust)
• Eleri Watson (OT, Northumberland County Council)
• Rebecca Fortescue (Specialist Paediatric OT) presented Breathe Magic Intensive Therapy Programme / Breathe Arts Health Research https://breatheahr.org/programmes/bre...
• Helen Mason (Specialist OT and community artist)
• Odeth Richardson (Chair of The Royal College and British Association of Occupational Therapists Council)


Panel discussion:
Karin Orman (RCOT), Miranda Cunningham (University of Plymouth), Helen Shearn (Consultant) and Jules Ford (Community and Personalised Care Directorate NHS England)

N.B There is a minor adjustment requested by Helen Mason following her pre-recorded video. Correction: Occupational Therapy in the UK started in the first world war due to needing to support people with shell shock, it was introduced by Elizabeth Casson a UK psychiatrist. Helen suggests this fantastic video for more information:    • Celebrating AOTA's Centennial: A Historica...