Remote assessments and occupational therapy: Legal framework and practical implications
This webinar explores the legal context of remote assessments in health and social care – that is, law relevant to the meeting of people’s needs, their safety and the safety of practitioners. The legal context will include: Care Act 2014, NHS Act 2006, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and associated regulations as well as the question of possible common law liability for negligence.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the legal context of remote assessments in health and social care
- Understand the need for appropriate documentation; consent forms and risk assessment prior to carrying out remote assessments
- Understand the practical considerations around joint assessments e.g. assessment, equipment, adaptations and manual handling
- Understand the limitations of remote assessments, how to overcome some of the challenges and when remote assessments may not be appropriate
Meet our Experts

Matt is an experienced director of people, teams and operations, having worked for 13 years in the medico-legal / case management and private healthcare sectors. At The OT Practice he is responsible for the overall delivery of services across a diverse range of clients and referrers. Alongside managing the teams involved in the delivery of services to clients, he has responsibility for continually reviewing and improving services to ensure clients receive a high standard of care.

Michael has provided independent legal training in the field of health and social care for 25 years and written many legal books. He also worked at the Department of Health and Social Care for a period, following ten years at the Disabled Living Foundation.

An Occupational Therapist by training, with an extensive clinical background spanning two decades and multiple sectors. In 2005 she founded The OT Practice with the vision of offering high quality and bespoke therapy solutions to clients in their own homes, schools and workplaces. The OT Practice has grown to have a national coverage delivering occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy to a wide variety of referrers including those from the charitable, insurance, private and public sectors.
People who watched this also watched...
Clinical reasoning for seating: breaking down the assessment process
This session will explore the essential components of a postural assessment for seating.
Concepts behind an evidence-based falls prevention programme for older people: Stepping On
Megan Swann is a Consultant Occupational Therapist Master Trainer and Co-author of the Stepping On falls prevention programme in Australia NSW. She has over 30 years of experience. Stepping On, an evidence based programme, aims to equip participants with the knowledge, strength and confidence to prevent falls, stay active and remain independent.
The programme whilst founded in Australia by two Occupational Therapists is also now in 17 states of the US and a manual has been written for Spanish speakers in the US: www.steppingon.com.
She continues to run and train allied health workers to become Stepping On facilitators.
Enhancing healthcare consultations and interventions: Using a coaching approach for effective patient engagement
Recent research shows that occupational therapy intervention is essential to support healthy ageing and adults living with chronic conditions who have difficulties performing daily activities (Hagelskjær et al. 2024). Equally, physiotherapy is crucial in supporting better physical health for older adults with and without chronic health conditions (Liu et al 2024). Supporting clients to self-manage their health is essential, but this requires specific approaches and communication styles, such as coaching. Join us for this webinar, which introduces how to use a coaching approach to enhance client engagement and intervention.