Medical Employment Agency New Zealand & United Kingdom, Medical Staffing International

Medical Staffing International/ NZAOT Occupational Therapy Achievement Award 2008

How Knowing the People Planning is making a very real difference to service outcomes

Knowing the People Planning (KPP) has been used to measure real outcomes that make a difference to people: it's easy to implement and has demonstrated improvements in mental health and addiction services of Hawke’s Bay DHB, thanks to Award winner Kim Henneker.

This year’s Medical Staffing International/NZAOT Achievement Award winner Kim Henneker is passionate about her own occupations and is a busy lady: she’s the clinical leader of a Community Mental Health Service in Hastings; she’s an Occupational Therapist; she’s the current Occupational Therapy Board of NZ Chairperson; she’s recently completed her Masters of health practice; and she’s got a very full and satisfying home life with two teenagers, Ryan and Hilary, and a very supportive husband, Chris.

So it’s no surprise that when Kim applies herself to something, it’s got to be relatively straightforward to implement on a day-by-day basis and deliver real results. And that’s exactly why the methodology for using KPP is such a success, evidenced in her report ‘Improving Access to Occupational Therapy services using the Knowing People Planning Approach’.

What makes KPP different to other service models is that it treats people as individuals, while at the same time recognising they may share some core needs. These needs primarily revolve around the ability to live independently in a stable place they can call their home; to have a job that enhances their income; as well as providing a means to participate in society and be valued as a person. The focus is placed very firmly on recovery from mental illness and providing a proactive approach to providing health services.

“It works well for practitioners, because it’s all centred around quantitative data,” explains Kim. “And the KPP approach actually requires very little time to complete the data entry. Best of all, because the data is quantitative and tracked in a spreadsheet over time, it allows us to make year-on-year comparisons to see if practice initiatives are actually working and improving people’s lives and enabling recovery.”

One of the measures of success are employment rates, and KPP has delivered some very impressive results: the percentage of clients in paid employment has risen from seven percent in 2004 to 25 percent in 2006. The KPP approach also encourages the various support agencies to truly work together as the data creates measurability and open communications. The agencies responsible for work, housing, social support and education all work together towards common goals, creating real synergies and real benefits to consumers.

So how do the consumers feel about it? “They’re thrilled!” says Kim. “For one thing, people are worked with as individuals and have the opportunity to engage in their own recovery. The support solutions they receive are tailored to their unique needs rather than being imposed on them. As they realise that long-term they’re likely to enjoy better health and a better outcomes, people feel that someone really does give a damn about them. That makes a huge difference to their participation and their recovery.”

Spreading the word about KPP is very important to Kim: “I’ve already presented my work at Health Innovations 2007 and winning this Award will enable me to further demonstrate how KPP can influence real outcomes. I hope to present at an international forum within the next year, and may even attend WFOT 2010 in Santiago Chile,” she says.

“I’m so pleased to have won this Award,” smiles Kim. “Thank you to Medical Staffing International and the NZAOT. It’s so important to get the message out there and really promote that occupational therapy makes a very real difference to peoples lives, and that’s what it’s all about!”

Andrea’s work on ASD

Last year’s Award winner Andrea Hasselbusch wrote her thesis on ‘Exploring the Occupational Therapy Consultation Process Related to Students with ASD Attending a Regular Classroom. Andrea is now fully involved in her new lecturing and research role at the National University of Ireland, Department of Occupational Therapy in Galway.

Kirsten Thomforde at Medical Staffing International, who sponsors this annual Award adds: “Both Kim and Andrea are very deserving winners and I’d like to congratulate them on their ongoing hard work and commitment to their profession. It is work like this that will assist the profession to gain further recognition as an important cornerstone for effective health care delivery.”

For more information on the Medical Staffing International/NZAOT Occupational Therapy Achievement Awards >

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