OT wins £1.5k funding at RCOT Awards 2023 for app that supports practitioners

Technology-enabled care specialist (TEC) Tunstall Healthcare has awarded £1,500 of funding to the winner of the Technology Innovation in Occupational Therapy category in the RCOT Awards 2023.

Registered Occupational Therapist Alicia Ridout was announced as the winner of the category for Clinical Onboarding Guide for Occupational Therapists (COG-OT) to support digital practice development.

The annual RCOT Awards are a competitive process and provide funding support for projects and research for members of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), which is essential for furthering studies and services that can improve occupational therapy across the country.

COG-OT was launched initially as a web app to much success with the primary objective of offering support to occupational therapy practitioners. Following the feedback from the 2021 funded work and success of the launch, further capabilities, funded by the Elizabeth Casson Trust, have been introduced, including additional modules relating to digital competencies and multidisciplinary team working.

Alicia commented on the win: “We’re thrilled to be able to continue working on COG-OT and winning for a second year is a significant boost for us. We have huge faith in this project and see the service as providing essential support for Occupational Therapists across the UK. This funding will go toward running a co-design workshop and focus groups with practice educator OTs to inform the next stage of the project.”

The long-term goal for COG-OT is to embed its use in all university training courses and ultimately an international rollout, allowing the app to grow and develop at scale and become the go-to resource for occupational therapists.

Dr Gillian Ward, Research and Development Manager at The Royal College of Occupational Therapists, added: “The awards are absolutely critical for continuing to develop technology and services that offer the chance for the Occupational Therapy sector to deliver care that is able to keep up with the changing needs of our population.

“With the introduction of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), we are moving evermore towards technologically advanced care and the Innovation category is essential to champion these projects and propel growth.”

Tunstall Healthcare sponsored the RCOT Awards for the second time, having previously sponsored the category in 2021.

COG-OT was also awarded funding as part of the 2021 RCOT Tunstall award.

Gavin Bashar, Managing Director of Tunstall UK&I, said: “COG-OT has already been shown in pilot stages to be an essential tool for Occupational Therapists. It’s a privilege to have the chance to support Alicia and her team once again as the rollout of the app continues. Innovations and pioneering projects such as this simply cannot exist without support and funding, and we’re proud to be joining Alicia and her team on this journey.”

Recently, Tunstall Healthcare worked with the County Councils Network to publish a timely report, which argues that the potential of technology to support those with social care needs is growing ‘exponentially’ each year. It looks into the impact of digital technology on adult social care and the importance of implementing digital change across the care landscape.