Thursday 24th of April was a significant day in Active Care Group’s history as we hosted our first ever Annual Therapy Conference at The Crown Plaza Hotel in Nottingham. With over 140 Therapists across the group and with just over 100 in attendance on the day, it was certainly a day to remember.
The event proved a fantastic opportunity for our Therapists to network with one another, develop an understanding about other Active Care Group services, discuss the Therapy Strategy and introduce new therapy platforms
The event was opened, and led, by Ashleigh Gonsalves, our Group Professional Lead for Therapies, and Dr Amit Chatterjee, Chief Medical Officer, welcoming everyone to what was to be a truly inspirational day.
First was a presentation about Therapy Services in Acute Mental Health, presented by Dr Mark Gentry, Clinical Psychologist who is based at our Holybourne Hospital, London and Dr Georgia Harris, Forensic Psychologist, who is based at our King’s Norton Hospital, Birmingham. They spoke passionately about their innovations, the therapy they offer and how they work collaboratively and efficiently with families of their patients to make sure there is an inclusive approach.
Followed by a presentation regarding the Active Care Group Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Model,from Hulya Waite, Group Positive Behaviour Support Lead. They spoke candidly about the PBS model, explaining the rights, the values and the processes, analysing the framework of why certain behaviours can occur, and covering their model of support.
A fascinating, yet humble moment, came from the guest speaker, Alex Staniforth, adventurer, speaker and mental health advocate and the founder of mental health charity, Mind Over Mountains. Alex spoke about his journey to where he is today, from being bullied as a child, near death experiences through his adventurous challenges, and to moving forward to his next challenge, The 4:4:6 Challenge, where he will be climbing all 446 mountains within England & Wales in one go – running and cycling over 2700km, ascending almost 10 times the height of Mount Everest, with a record target of 50 days. Find out more and Donate to Alex’s Challenge here
After a well-deserved lunch, we heard from Kirstie Corfield, Clinical Lead / Consultant Physiotherapist, for Neural Pathways, our specialist brain and spinal injury rehabilitation and therapy company. Kirstie spoke of the technologies that Neural Pathways has to offer and the advancement in these technologies which has come on in recent years.
Our Learning and Development colleagues then spoke about the exciting career opportunities that Active Care Group can offer to our therapists. Amanda Pettitt, Director of Learning & Development and Philippa Care, Academic Programme Manager, launched and discussed the therapy career development framework.
Following on from his informative discussion was a shining example of career progression at Active Care Group. Jake Butler, Therapy Assistant at Neural Pathways spoke about how he is one of the first people within the company to complete an Active Care Group therapy apprenticeship and is now a qualified Physiotherapist through the programme.
The day was rounded off with an engaging wellbeing presentation from Colin Mitchell, Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing. Colleague wellbeing, which is a vital part of a successful organisation, has been highlighted admirably by Colin and in his presentation spoke of the actions we take within Active Care Group to highlight wellbeing and also how to spot signs of people who needed support.
Speaking of the day, Ashleigh Gonsalves said “Everyone who attended came with such positive energy which only continued to elevate as we went through the day. We had so many informative, inspiring and motivational talks and presentations. My aim for our therapists is to have them feel valued and recognised for the remarkable work that they do and provide day to day access to resources and opportunities for continued development and meaningful collaboration.”
This conference was filled with information and inspiration and will be an annual highlight of the Active Care Group’s event calendar moving forward.
We thank everyone involved in making this event happen!
