The Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland (AOTI) Seating and Posture in Occupational Therapy Advisory Group Annual Report

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1 The Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland (AOTI) Seating and Posture in Occupational Therapy Advisory Group Annual Report Committee Membership. Current committee consists of 14 members The committee should ideally consist of representatives of the following specialities Primary Care Acute Hospitals Intellectual Disability Physical Disability Paediatrics Specialist seating clinic It would be desirable to have committee members from the following specialties also; Current Officers Mental Health Academia Academia / Higher Education Institutes (HEIs ) Unive rs ity Colle ge Cork National University of Ireland, Galway Unive rs ity of Lim e rick Trinity Colle ge Dublin Role Name Place of Work Term of Office Chair Laura Binions Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown Vice chair Avril McElwain Regional Seating Clinic Cork/Kerry 1 year 1 year (steeping into chair in 2 nd year) Secretary Audrey Collins KARE 1-2 years Treasurer Suzie Kelly St. James Hospital 1-2 years Communications Officer Regina Doyle Carlow Primary Care 1-2 years CPD Officers Sarah McNally St.Vincents Hospital 1-2 years Ruth Hanley Enable Ireland Membership Secretary Aisling Duignan Mater Hospital 1-2 years

2 Terms of Reference Background From the acute hospital seating working group it was recognised that there was a need for an Occupational Therapy focused group looking at seating and postural management. Although The Irish Posture and Mobility Network (IPMN) was already in existence it was not purely for OT s and did not link with AOTI. An organising committee was formed and call for interest was sent out. Following this the committee was formed. Purpose To improve the quality of seating services nationally by promoting safe and consistent practice regarding seating, wheelchair and posture management. To promote the role of Occupational Therapy in seating and posture management. To promote evidence based best practice for all Occupational Therapists involved in seating and posture management. To improve the service user s experience when requiring posture management services and promote equity for all. To communicate and inform AOTI, HSE, government and Policy makers regarding seating and posture management. Aims To develop standardised seating assessment forms for use across all settings promoting quality and consistent practice. To develop competencies document to guide all levels of therapists and encourage continuous professional development with regard to seating and posture management. To develop a training pathway for therapists and source training opportunities through AOTI. To facilitate communication and shared learning amongst occupational therapists working in regard to seating and posture management. This will be through online forums, and meetings and study days. To map services nationally through communication with members and use this information to inform future service development. Responsibilities of the Advisory Group Chair The advisory group chair is Laura Binions. Should the chair be unable to attend a meeting the vice chair, will act as chair. The responsibilities of the advisory group chair are as follows: Organise meetings and conference calls. Set the agenda for each meeting which the secretary should circulate. Encourage broad participation from members in discussion. End each meeting with a summary of decision and actions.

3 Identify and oversee the progress of specific subgroups. Act as a link to AOTI council, feeding back activity and outcomes of the Advisory Group. Responsibilities of the Secretary Keep list of members Compile minutes and circulate Forward AGM minutes to the AOTI council Organise attendance sheet at meetings Responsibilities of the Treasurer The effective management of all the financial resources of the Advisory Group Compile and submit an annual financial statement to the group and AOTI Liaise with the financial institution (Bank of Ireland) and manage books to ensure all monies received and paid out are documented and accounted for. The Treasurer will lodge cash and cheques in a timely fashion. Work with 2 other signatories and all payments need authorisation of 2 out of the 3 named signatories. (Suzie Kelly, Laura Binions and Aisling Duignan) Responsibilities of the Communications Officer Facilitate communication between committee members and members of the wider group. Accept membership requests Promotion of the group via, , flyers, social media, AOTI etc. Promotion of group activities and events Responsibilities of the CPD Officer Gather information from members regarding learning needs on an annual basis Co-ordinate study day based on member needs Co-ordinate resource library Responsibilities of Membership Secretary To accept membership applications by To check members are AOTI members and have paid membership fee To inform communications officer of members once accepted

4 Responsibilities of Group Members: Understand the goals, objectives and desired outcomes of the programme of work. Attend and actively participate in advisory group meetings and subgroups meetings as required through discussion and review. Support open discussion and debate and encourage fellow advisory group members to express their opinions. Mode of operation of Committee a) A quorum of 4 officers and 4 committee members will be required for committee meeting b) An agenda will be circulated to all members at least one week in advance. Submission of items for inclusion on the agenda should be made to the convener of the group ten days before the next meeting is due. c) The minutes of the meetings must be approved by the members and signed by the chairperson as being correct. d) Where appropriate the Committee may establish sub-groups to discuss particular issues. The sub-groups will report back their recommendations on these issues to the full Committee. e) The Committee will report to the Council of AOTI. f) Decisions are made with quorum outlined above. g) Sharing of information and developing documents will be done through LAPD Mode of Operation of full membership a) 8 committee members for quorum in full group meetings. b) All members of the group must also be members of AOTI. c) Annual membership will be 10 d) Communication will be through ; spotag@aoti.ie Criteria for membership of the group: AOTI Membership CORU Registration Benefits for members: Annual Study Days Reduced Rates for external courses Networking opportunities with OT s around the country in all specialties Opportunity to influence development of services

5 Online networking and peers support for queries and complex cases Devised: March 2017 Next Review Due: March 2018 Issues / items dealt with. We have made great progress in the past few months and now have our name and logo with our terms of reference finalised. We compiled feedback for an Oireachtas committe on the Future of Healthcare submission Via AOTI and Rosie Gowran. It has been submitted to the Minister with responsibility for Disability Finian McGrath, Rosie met with him and his advisors, along with 5 wheelchair users and a parent on 27 th Oct We applied for funding for several Seating courses via the AOTI CPD section and have been successful to date with 3 courses: Enable Ireland Level 1 3 day Paediatric seating workshop Sub groups have been set up to review previous Assessment forms developed by the Acute hospitals seating group Sub group to review competency documents and develop a document suitable for the Irish context from entry level to clinical specialist Feedback supplied on AOTI strategic plan Attended the IMPN education day and advertised the SPOT group to various organisations We have had several issues with setting up our bank account due to new regulations however these are now resolved and ready to take membership. Current focus. Securing membership Running annual education day Securing funding for more course in Seating and postural management Continuing to link with local and national organisations regarding informing policy and meeting our Aims of our terms of reference