Tunstall Healthcare supports innovation in occupational therapy

Sep 30, 2021

Tunstall Healthcare is delighted to be sponsoring the ‘Technology Innovation in Occupational Therapy’ award for the second year running at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) Annual Awards for Learning, Development and Research.

We’ll be presenting the winning occupational therapist with £1,500 to support their career development and fund their innovation in occupational therapy. The award category encourages applicants to think creatively and take into account new ways of working in occupational therapy, as well as how people are adapting their learning, practice and research in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 winner of The Tunstall Award for Technology Innovation in Occupational Therapy was Alicia Ridout. Alicia and her team were presented with the award for the development of a new web application which forms a digital Clinical Onboarding Guide for Occupational Therapists (COG-OT).

We caught up with Alicia, who commented: “Winning the award has transformed the use of the tool; double the number of users are now accessing it, and it is providing insights from users across a wide range of clinical contexts. The funding was used to build a survey which would automatically trigger and to continue to collect basic usage data.

“The COVID 19 pandemic has catapulted occupational therapists into a digitally driven environment, with more than a third having to learn new digital skills and two thirds now delivering services in new ways. There was already a clear gap in terms of support for applying technology in professional practice, and in the past year we have seen an unprecedented leap in implementation, in many cases without sufficient training or experience.”

At Tunstall we’re incredibly pleased to be able to provide crucial support to professionals, and increase their confidence in applying technology. The Tunstall Award for Technology Innovation in Occupational Therapy is just one of the ways we are investing in technology and innovation to improve the future of health and care, and equip professionals to deliver the best possible service to users.

The deadline for receipt of applications for this year’s RCOT awards is 5pm on Friday 29 October 2021 and all applicants will be notified of the outcome in January 2022. To apply visit the RCOT website.