Do something different for OT Week
With major service change happening all over the UK, it’s the ideal time to lobby the people who make decisions about your jobs and services about the importance of OT. Andrew Mickel gives some guidance on how to make that first contact.
Work out what you want to achieve and who you want to talk to
- There are lots of people who are worth lobbying locally to protect the future of your service, but first of all you have to work out who you’re targeting and why.
- To pick two major examples: in England, are you targeting the proposed GP consortia, so that when they take over responsibility for commissioning services they will know about your work? It may already be obvious in your area which GPs will collaborate and in others it should be obvious soon, and so you can target them to explain your service. COT has many marketing materials for explaining OT, and a dedicated leaflet for GPs is available from reception@cot.co.uk.
- Alternatively, is your service being targeted for cuts and you want to contact politicians to garner support? While they won’t have direct control over your service they can be a powerful and well-connected ally to have. You can find your political representatives through theyworkforyou.com (remember that in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, health and social care are devolved issues instead of and are not in MPs’ purview).
- Check the table at the end of this article to see who you might need to be targeting. It’s important to make sure you pick someone who actually has control over the service you are lobbying about. Letters to people without that power won’t just fail to help – they may harm the view of OT by others.
Work out what it is you want to say to them and gather your evidence
- Whatever you want to say, detailed and costed evidence is a potent tool to explain, promote or defend your service. How many of which group of people do you serve? How much did it cost to do that – and how much money did your work save elsewhere? And what do patients and service users think of your work?
- You may need to gather new evidence, but you might also be surprised how much is already available, so don’t worry if you think that you don’t have any – all the data that has to be collected to meet targets, for example, are excellent resources. While concrete numbers demonstrating what services have been delivered and at what cost are potent, stories about people’s experiences and outcomes are a great way to help communicate the true worth of your service.
- Don’t limit yourself to your own resources – COT has plenty to support you. A good starting point is COT’s 10 High Impacts providing a couple of pages of key facts about major areas of OT work and the research and evidence that supports it. Look through the OTnews archive as well to see what else has happened in a particular field in the last year.
- Also see if anyone else has done something similar to evidence their own, similar services – specialist sections and the COT web forums are all good starting points to find them. And don’t limit yourself to OT resources – are there any local services that could provide written support of your work? Are there any relevant national charities or organisations you can turn to? And does the NHS Evidence database have examples of QIPP in action that can support your case?
- Lastly, what is motivating the person you are speaking to? The answer is likely to be money, which is why costed evidence is so important, but there are other drivers. Government policy is a good starting point – has there been any guidance or policy frameworks issued you can refer to, or NICE guidelines?
Build a clear narrative that non-OTs can understand
- Whatever your rationale, putting forward what you want to say in a clear and concise way is crucial. If necessary, start by explaining what OT is and what your particular service does; explain why you are talking to them; give evidence and examples of what your service does; and show why OT is best to do the job.
- There are plenty of pitfalls to be careful of. Evidence is great, and if you can leave them with detailed but clear materials to explain your service, then all the better. But try not to overload them with operational details. An evidenced headline figure – say, an investment of £20,000 could save them £100,000 – is more likely to stay with them than a ream of spreadsheet printouts.
- Don’t forget to argue the role of OT in your service too: even if you can defend the role of your service, a commissioner may think the work is better delivered by lower grade staff or a different profession.
- Lastly, be careful how you explain your work: it’s worth running any material you want to use past someone who doesn’t have a health background to see what everyday expressions you use won’t make sense outside your service.
Can you build on this relationship – or is there someone else to target?
- After you have made your case, would there be any benefit in getting the person you are targeting to visit the service and see your work in action? Is there scope for further meetings or are there ways to keep contact going? Make sure you follow-up on your initial contact.
- Don’t stop with targeting one person – the more people you have who know the value of OT, the better. And just because someone may not be useful now doesn’t mean they won’t be a useful ally in future – it can be helpful to have a wide network of contacts to support you through whatever changes may transpire in the future.
Do you have any success in lobbying locally? Let us know on andrew.mickel@cot.co.uk
Who should I contact...
...to show the effect of my intervention?
Line manager, referrers, funders, commissioners, service planners, patient groups and agencies, local media. Consider using case studies/ patient stories, savings, reduction in need (admission avoidance, early discharge, reduction in long term care needs, reduction in benefit needs).
...to show the effect of my OT service?
Line manager, senior management, Health Board/Trust/Local Authority, Commissioners/ planners/ GPs, those who make service configuration decisions. Emphasise cost savings, increased outcomes /effect for service users. For example: are you ‘doing more for less’, creating a reduction in bed days or preventing admissions? Do you deliver on service objectives?
...to prevent cuts to my service?
Politicians*, budget holders in your employing organisation, user groups. Supply evidence of effectiveness as above, evidence of potential redesign as an alternative, cost savings, quality improvements, evidence of how the profession achieves the organisation’s aims.
...to redesign services/implement new services?
Politicians*, directors, senior managers/ commissioners/ GP consortia/ Health Board members/ Officers, senior therapists, Government officials/ civil servants. Give examples of types of alternative provision, with evidence of effectiveness, use COT’s 10 High Impacts to show how new services will meet objectives.
...to increase referrals/make referrals more effective?
Current referrers, service commissioners, GPs, team members/ colleagues, media. Write back to referrers with outcomes for those already referred.
*Always ensure you select the right politicians. Health Services and Policy is devolved so in:
- England use your MP
- Scotland use your Member of the Scottish Parliament
- Northern Ireland use your Member of the Legislative Assembly
- Wales use your Assembly Member
- Social Services/ Housing you may also use the above, but it may be more appropriate to use your local councillor/ Cabinet Leader for Social Services or other local authority.
You can find out who is your representative on www.theyworkforyou.com
Find out more about OT Week
Explore the 10 high impacts aimed at service commissioners
Explore BAOT/COT's range of marketing materials
Tell us what you've done for OT week.
