June 2024 saw this year’s annual NAEP Conference held in Kenilworth on June 13th & 14th. TACT’s Clare Barber and Janet Seward hosted one of the popular workshops that ran on both days. The interactive talk headlined ‘Emerging roles in assessing for equipment’ considered how growing demand for equipment, pressure on resources and the trend to remote assessment are leading to a gap in face-to-face assessments for equipment.  

The talk looked at a handful of examples of roles that are stepping into the gap in an effort to speed up access and improve service provision. Examples included: 

  • Installer-assessor 

  • Retailer – assessor 

  • Assessors in care settings 

  • Assessors in reablement and discharge to assess services 

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The talk considered RCOT’s Adaptations without Delay model published in 2019 that advocated organising services and roles according to the type of case and needs of the individual and the talk examined the risks and rewards around making such changes.

Examples discussed included the role of installer and how qualified installer-assessors can act to modify equipment without needing to refer a case for further review and delay. The talk referenced the Middlesbrough Staying Put project that was published by Housing LIN and is listed as a separate article in this News section. 

For many years, retailers of equipment for independent living have undertaken demonstration visits requested by local services. In February 2024 TACT (Trusted Assessor and Care Training) launched a Trusted Assessor course for these staff backed BHTA (British Healthcare Trades Association) that looks to provide additional skills so that they can take a more holistic person-centred approach to those visits.  

A wide range of organisations providing care and housing want to act on the needs that they notice so that service users can gain independence without delays. This section of the talk looked at roles such as domiciliary care workers and coordinators and staff in housing associations looking to adapt housing who want to support service users to gain greater freedoms. The workshops discussed the challenges and opportunities around opening equipment ordering to these staff. 

The talk concluded that there are a range of roles and professionals around the older and disabled person that are ideally placed to notice needs and identify equipment solutions. Once trained many of these roles can be qualified to act, reducing the reliance on the role of occupational therapist (OT) and reducing waiting times.  

 

The full presentation can be downloaded here. 

Emerging roles in assessing for equipment – NAEP Conference 2024 FINAL.pptx