Occupational Therapy staff and students hit top gear with Mission Motorsport

Staff and students from the University of Northampton’s Occupational Therapy team provided pit-stop support for a military rehab charity this Remembrance Day weekend.

Mission Motorsport host their annual Race of Remembrance on the Isle of Anglesey to commemorate the sacrifices made by service personnel and their families.

The charity was established in 2012 with the simple motto ‘Race, Retrain, Recover’. The aim is to use motor racing as a tool to aid injured or disabled military personnel, or ‘beneficiaries’, get back in the workplace.

13 beneficiaries hold a race licence as a consequence of their engagement with the armed forces motorsport charity.  A further 40 took part as support crew, pit crew and logistics staff.

Northampton Occupational Therapy (OT) staff and students provided a sensory room and a refuge for beneficiaries to retreat to.

The sensory room created for Race for Remembrance beneficiaries and (right) University of Northampton Occupational Therapy team and Mission Motorsport personnel.

Northampton OT has a strong history or providing student volunteers to support charities such as Mission Motorsport, whom they have worked with since 2015.

These placements put students into innovative learning experiences, helping putting their OT theory into practice.

Staff and students have provided a range of wellbeing and work assessments and support for Mission Motorsport members, including those for chronic pain, the home environment assessments and wheelchair assessments.

To date, 29 Mission Motorsport people have benefited from Northampton OT’s input. Feedback has been uniformly praiseworthy and the service is set to expand.

Celebrating with the obligatory bottle of bubbly.

Adam Marchant-Wincott, Head of Vocation and Training at Mission Motorsport, said “The Race of Remembrance weekend is a highly emotionally charged weekend. Having such a strong OT presence allowed us to have the confidence to bring so many beneficiaries up to enjoy the weekend and for those individuals to get the most out of it.

“It’s a vital part of Mission Motorsport sporting output, a real game changer for us and we look forward to doing more with Northampton University in the future”.

Anne Segalini, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at University of Northampton, added: “Mission Motorsport do sterling work in helping military personnel get back on the road to a full recovery, so it was a real honour for our first class students to lend a helping hand.

“It was great to be invited to support them and enjoy a little bit of life in the fast lane.”

OT student Carrie Busby added:”Being ex forces myself, I did not anticipate the enormous, positive impact Occupational Therapy has on veterans and their families. It also highlighted to me just how important OT is.

“I want to say a massive thank you to the guys at mission Motorsport for making us feel valued and accepted right from day one. The experience will stay with me throughout my future career.”

University of Northampton’s OT course, established in 1941, is ranked one of the top 10 in the UK.

For more information about what the Occupational Therapy (BSc) course offers.

For more about Mission Motorsport and their work.