Virtual Care Festival

The OT Show and Care Show have teamed up this year to bring you the Virtual Care Festival

The OT Show and Care Show will be running the UK’s first Virtual Care Festival on 25 – 26 November 2020. The festival will be a great opportunity to gain CPD through lectures and seminars presented by our world-renowned industry speakers, network with colleagues, and meet your favourite suppliers. In a time where face-to-face learning for health and care professionals is restricted, there still needs to be a space where professionals can network, learn and explore the latest innovations in the industry. The Virtual Care Festival is a place where OT professionals can do this with ease. Today, audiences expect more. Not death by PowerPoint or disruptive phone calls, but a tangible online experience that is human, interactive, and engaging. The Virtual Care Festival 2020 will run on 25-26 November. The event will be the largest digital gathering of occupational therapists and decision-makers working in social and private care, both domiciliary and residential, in the UK. At the beginning of August, The OT Show conducted a survey to over 22,000 OT professionals to find out what could be done to help with their continued learning and development in the absence of face-to-face events. Out of those 22,000, a stunning 84% said they were actively seeking some form of online engagement to fill the gap. To fulfil the needs of our OT community, we have designed the Virtual Care Festival. Although the live event can’t go ahead this year, we wanted to organise an event that was safe for our community of occupational therapy professionals. We understand that a great deal of our visitors work hard to support and improve the lives of vulnerable people, therefore, we felt it irresponsible to try and run a live event in 2020.

HOW WILL IT LOOK?

The Virtual Care Festival will run like an actual event but from the comfort, safety and convenience of your own home or office. Although physical events are not running this year, we wanted to provide an experience just as exciting and insightful. Just like a conference centre, you’ll be able to move around and talk to your colleagues like you would at any face-to-face event. This virtual space is split up into four areas for easy navigation. THE ENTRANCE LOBBY This is where the journey starts with easy navigation to all the theatres, exhibition hall, and a help desk for advice. EXHIBITION HALL Where you can explore the latest brands, technologies, and engage with the exhibitors. This virtual space allows you to have face-to-face conversations with the best companies in the industry. Visitors can explore over 50 interactive leading suppliers showcasing different products and services for all organisation requirements, including: Arjo, CareLineLive, CoolCare, Opera Care, Recruitive, Sunmed, Vileda Professional, My Learning Cloud Limited, Essex County Council, AKW, Closomat, Hillrom, Accora Limited, OSKA, and Medequip. The platform also allows you to arrange meetings with exhibitors via chat windows and video conferencing tools. As they are the leaders in their field and have been particularly vital to the industry during the pandemic, there will be plenty to engage with over the course of the two days. NETWORKING LOUNGE Networking opportunities with peers and a chance to discover valuable new acquaintances. A place to meet attendees, speakers, and other exhibitors. THE THEATRES Where the learning takes place. Five theatres with world-renowned speakers to gain over 60 hours of CPD engagement.

SPEAKERS To provide an event that will benefit the education and learning of our community we have talks from some of the top names in the industry, some of which have provided excellent presentations at our live events in the past. Among these are Dr. Michael Iwama, Dean at MGH Institute of Health Professions, Rt Hon Sir Norman Lamb, Former MP, Chair of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Chair of the Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, Michael Mandelstam, Legal training in social and health care at Michael Mandelstam Ltd, Debbie Ivanova, Deputy Chief Inspector (DCI) of Adult Social Care at CQC, Nadra Ahmed OBE, Chairman of NCA and Barbara Keeley, MP, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health and Social Care. The Virtual Care Festival will take place on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th November 2020 between 09:00 – 17:00. Information on joining the event will be made available upon registering via email. To register your interest visit: www.theotshow.com/

ot-magazine

For any other enquiries, please contact the team on 0207 348 5276 or email Joseph Church on j.church@

closerstillmedia.com.

25th -26th November 2020

Help clients ‘access all areas’ quickly without disruption

Addressing the impact of reduced mobility on a client and their family can be disruptive to all involved, and on multiple areas of their home- but it need not be. We look at a fasttrack solution, that may well already be in your equipment store!

We’re all aware of the current drive to enable safe discharge of patients from hospital to home. That is in addition to the typical pressure of assessing clients as existing issues change, requiring different solutions to enable them to remain in their own home. Moving around at home is the biggest problem: almost 7 million people - 48% of the British disabled population - say mobility is their biggest issue, making it the biggest single limitation. (1)

For the client, adapting to a life-limiting condition is hard enough, whether short or long term, without the emotional trauma of having their bed in the lounge, and what if they do not have a downstairs WC? NO BUILDING WORK

More often than not, the ‘go to’ solution is to assess for major works, an adaptation including the provision of a through-floor lift or stairlift. That inevitably takes time, whilst the appropriate funding stream is authorised and the works approved. If the mobility limitation is comparatively short term, a matter of weeks or months, then what? An AAT Sella powered stairclimber is not just a quick fix, but can actually deliver better PROMs and best value in use of financial and other resources. The AAT Sella has a small turning circle, meaning it can accommodate narrow fights and tight turns. When not in use, it simply folds away. SINGLE-HANDED CARE

A battery-powered Class 1 Medical Device, the Sella is operated by one person, providing safe and smooth movement of the passenger between levels, with minimal effort: https://youtu.be/zoA2uhyFGmQ. It means a mode of transferring the client up and down stairs is quickly and cost-effectively delivered, without any disruption to the fabric of the home, nor any need

to move furniture from one room to another. Familiar life can continue for the whole household. Even the slightest able-bodied person can easily use it to move even a morbidly obese passenger (up to 135kg). Fully-adjustable speed controls means the operator can set the Sella to whatever speed is comfortable for them, and automatic braking holds on each step for optimum safety and security. The AAT Sella reduces, or even eliminates, the need to transfer on and off: many people use it as their primary means of transport in place of a wheelchair. An optional universal back with integrated safety harness ensures any passenger is comfortable and secure, even if prone to spasms or seizures. The rechargeable battery pack is capable of 300 steps from one charge. BEST VALUE

AAT’s nationwide team means an OT can quickly action an assessment (virtually, remotely or actually). Most local authorities already have at least one AAT stairclimber in stores, so the solution can be delivered quickly and often at almost no cost. AAT offers a hire facility, for as short a time as a week, to further accelerate the delivery of safe home living. AAT fully trains all operators to ensure they are comfortable using the equipment. Familiar life and routines can continue almost uninterrupted, safely, within a matter of days. Find out more, or arrange a free home assessment for a client here: www.aatgb.com/s-max-sella.

(1) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874507/family-resourcessurvey-2018-19.pdf