Stark warning issued on occupational therapy services
Occupational therapy services across the west and north west are now operating at “unsafe” staffing levels, a TD has warned.
Occupational therapy (OT) services across the west and north west are now operating at “unsafe” staffing levels, leaving thousands waiting for essential assessments and interventions. This is the stark warning issued by Deputy Martin Daly.
“Timely access to occupational therapy transforms lives, but right now people in our region are waiting months or even years for care that should be delivered within weeks. It is clinically dangerous and utterly unacceptable,” warned the Ballygar-based GP.
The latest HSE figures show 7,617 people in the west and north west are currently awaiting an OT assessment — one of the highest totals in the country. “Even more concerning, 3,143 of these patients have been waiting over a year, representing 41% of all those on the waiting list,” said Deputy Daly.
He also highlighted the worsening workforce crisis. “The 2023 recruitment embargo severely damaged staffing levels, and the subsequent HSE Pay and Numbers Strategy has made matters worse. Essential OT posts are lying vacant at a time when demand has never been higher.
“We need to prioritise reinstating the occupational therapy posts affected by the Pay and Numbers Strategy,” he said.
“Our frontline teams cannot deliver timely care when essential positions are left vacant.”
Dr Daly also stressed the urgent need to improve career progression within the profession. “Clinical specialist OT posts already exist in the HSE, but we do not have nearly enough of them and we urgently need to develop advanced practitioner roles to retain experienced therapists. Without real career pathways, we will continue to lose talented staff to burnout or to other countries," Dr. Daly warned.
