National Forensic Occupational Therapy Forum Study Day

The Forensic Occupational Therapy Study Day was held on Thursday 17th March 2011 at Leeds Metropolitan University.

The study day was held in March following a snowstorm that caused the December study day to be postponed.

The study day was entitled "25 Hours of Structured Activity: Quality vs Quantity. Can Occupational Therapy Influence the Agenda?" and featured three keynote speakers who stimulated debate over the current hot topics in the field of Forensic Occupational Therapy.

Genevieve Smyth, Mental Health Professional Affairs Officer at COT, presented first, and focused on the current economic and policy background, how occupational therapists can influence agendas and how COT supports members.

Please click here to download her presentation: "Current Contexts for Occupational Therapists Working in Forensic Services"

Maddalene Reeve-Hoyland, College Centre for Quality Improvement, Royal College of Psychiatry, continued the day by discussing the challenges that units face with regards to providing 25 hours of structured activity for patients, and the work the Quality Network for Forensic Mental Health Services has done to support services in meeting this standard and sharing good practice from member units.

Please click here to download her presentation: "25 Hours of Structured Activity"

Amanda Lang, Head of Occupational Therapy at Stockton Hall, Partnerships in Care, closed the keynote sessions looking at what the expectation is of OTs, identifying one way of recording this data, and discussing some of the challenges that face OTs in this process.

Please click here to download her presentation: "The Practicalities of Implementing and Recording 25 Hours of Activity"