Well, a couple of weeks have passed by but I thought I’d reflect on the Occupational Therapy Conference at Brighton. It was my first time there and I was really excited to meet other OT’s and ROMPA said I could attend some of the talks too.

Before the event, our Business Development Team kindly asked me what products I’d like to showcase. I had a good think and wanted OT’s to realise that ROMPA and Winslow compliment each other and that our resources are versatile. I picked a variety of items for rehab, older adults, sensory and mental health practice.

COT Annual Conference in Brighton

Sven, Mark and I soon had the stand set up. The guys left the layout of the products to me –I felt like a child in a chocolate shop. The event opened with free drinks and the stand was overwhelmed with Occupational Therapists from all walks of life. They shared their thoughts on the products showcased, ideas for new ones, some wanted advice on products, others picked up brochures and some lovely people just stopped by for a chat.

Days two and three were frankly a blur of activity. I manned the stand, found new potential products from other exhibitors, saw happy familiar faces from Coventry and Derby Universities and met new people from the COT.

Products for the COT Annual Conference

I attended the plenary by Candice (Kings Fund) which gave me food for thought about where our profession was going and contributed in a small way to the SI debate that ROMPA sponsored which was held with Lesley Collier (University of Southampton), Gemma Cartwright (Sensory Integration Network) & Dido Green (Oxford Brooks University), Sharon Tuppeny (Freelance OT). The posters served to showcase current occupational therapy needs, issues, ideas and studies from across the globe (sponsored by ROMPA) and I was surprised at the breadth of topics included – go OT’s go!

Hope I get picked to go next year…