Earlier this summer we hosted our first Occupational Therapy Networking Event for our adult secure teams across the network. The day was a great success.

Organised by Occupational Therapy (OT) Leads from our partner Trusts across the collaborative, the event brought together 60 occupational therapy staff, including Occupational Therapists and OT Assistants.

We started with an introduction to the provider collaborative by Karen Drabble, the Associate Director for the Oxford Health provider collaboratives.

Karen Forrest, an advanced clinical practitioner in occupational therapy and sensory integration joined us for the event. She gave an inspiring keynote speech about sensory integration, drawn from her experience as a specialist in mental health and wellbeing for adults and adolescents in restrictive settings.

Throughout the day there were discussions around five key themes identified by the staff: Autism, Sensory Integration, OT’s work in Seclusion, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Managing Transitions.

Attendees participated in presentations, group work, and practical sensory exploration sessions, fostering a spirit of collaboration and shared learning.

Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive and given the demand for future events focused on occupational therapies across the network, we’ll be hosting a bi-annual conference and work together on joint projects. Ideas for these joint projects include the creation of a Seclusion Pathway and Autism Pathway for occupational therapy and creating a sensory integration working group to improve care standards and transitions for patients between hospitals.

This event was a big step forward in enhancing the collaboration and professional development of occupational therapy staff across the Trusts. We are looking forward to what the next event brings.

August 2025