14th October 2020
AHP’s play a vital role in the assessment, treatment and service delivery for those with a learning disability across the Southern Trust area.
As part of a Quality Improvement project 2019, the AHP’s across Disability Services developed a DVD to promote and showcase the valuable role that we play with the Learning Disability population in relation to promoting independence, skills acquisition, enhancing quality of life and alleviating caregiver demands with this vulnerable group in our society. The DVD is targeted at Year 12 / Year 13 groups to help share the positive experiences of service users across Supported Living environments, community settings, and day care facilities – where they were able to benefit from specialised assessments and interventions by all our AHP staff working in Learning Disability Services.
In October 2019, the DVD was used as part of a pilot that was rolled out across the Newry and Mourne local schools which included an engagement session and interactive workshops with all AHPs (Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, Speech and language Therapy and Podiatry) to year 12 students across the Newry and Mourne Council area.
Since the onset of COVID restrictions in March 2020 the engagement sessions are no longer viable but the DVD can now be used as a ‘COVID friendly’ educational resource across all school settings within the Southern Trust area.
Tracy Rogers, Head of Community Services, said: ‘’We are delighted to launch the DVD on AHP Day 14th October 2020 which outlines the significant role that AHP’s play in supporting adults in the community / care setting and provides students with real life examples of how important AHPS’s to maximising independence and unlocking full potential.
“Perhaps the most important element to these AHP jobs is that you are really making a real difference to peoples’ lives and that is what we wanted these young people to see.
“We have a very successful team of AHPs who work within Adult Learning Disability services throughout the Trust and were delighted to see so many young people attended the education sessions. We are delighted to launch this DVD and will be working with schools across the entire Trust area to share the DVD and promote AHPs further via virtual means.’’