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Frailty and the introduction of a targeted service to better meet the needs of those living locally with frailty issues was high on the agenda of Townships 1 PCN Clinical Director and GP Dr Tom Holdsworth. Once CCG funding had been successfully secured, the challenge to recruit a clinical project lead was proving tricky and Tom was eventually convinced by a colleague that an Occupational Therapist, in the form of Julia Clifford, might be the answer. One year on from Julia’s appointment and following a formal evaluation of the service, both Tom and Julia join Ben to discuss all aspects of the transformative approach they are taking in Sheffield to support their frail populations. From Tom’s initial concerns about whether an OT could provide what was needed, to the service specification and what Julia can offer, working collaboratively with the other additional roles team, and the service evaluation findings, this week’s episode is another truly inspirational offering to round off the 2021 podcast series.

Introductions (0:26)

The origins of ‘Townships 1’ PCN (0:38)

How was the service first introduced? (0:58)

Why a project focused on supporting frailty? (2:57)

The story behind recruiting an Occupational Therapist (OT) for the project role (3:59)

Preconceptions of what an OT could offer (4:43)

What attracted Julia to the role? (5:08)

Evaluating progress to date (5:57)

What are the most common scenarios and interventions? Where is Julia able to make the biggest impact? (8:08)

Alignment with the PCN’s ARRS strategy (9:58)

Making the most of the ARRS funding pot (10:52)

Formal service evaluation findings (12:03)

Are the practices feeling the impact? (13:45)

The risk of uncovering unmet need (14:25)

Continuing to progress amongst competing demands (14:54)

Working towards the anticipatory care specification (16:46)

Lessons learned from Julia’s perspective (18:29)

The full, published evaluation of the frailty project can be found here.

If you are interested in learning more, Tom and Julia are very happy to be contacted via their respective emails.