Almost nine in 10 (86%) occupational therapists (OTs) reported an increase in demand for their services between November 2021 and November 2022, according to our new report. Four in five (79%) OTs believe this increase in demand is because of a lack of capacity elsewhere in the health and care system. The same proportion attribute it to people’s needs becoming more complex because of delays to care and treatment.
According to the report, which looked at responses from over 2,600 occupational therapists throughout the UK about the state of the workforce, other reasons for increased demand in occupational therapy services include:
- people accessing services struggling more with activities because of delayed intervention (66%)
- people accessing services having increased mental health needs (54%)
- lack of availability of carers (52%)
- a broader range of referrals being received (42%).
We also found that almost four in five (78%) of those surveyed said their team wasn’t big enough to meet demand, and more than half (55%) said that long-standing recruitment issues meant the services they were providing weren’t meeting people’s needs.
This is creating a huge amount of pressure for occupational therapists and other staff in multidisciplinary teams in all settings, such as hospitals and care homes. Almost seven in 10 (68%) said they felt under too much pressure at work, while just under two-thirds (63%) said they were too busy to provide the level of care they would like. Almost half (48%) of occupational therapists intend to leave their current role in the next two years because of work-related stress.
One respondent even went as far as saying the ‘services are unsafe and will collapse.’
Another respondent said: ‘Our profession can offer so much to patients and yet we are continually having to compromise on care due to lack of staff and poorly staffed teams due to vacancies […] New services and teams want occupational therapists – they value us and our clinical expertise and skills but there aren't the occupational therapists to fill those teams.’
Despite the challenges and frustrations, the vast majority of respondents felt positive about their experiences of the profession, with almost all (93%) describing occupational therapy as a rewarding career and almost nine in 10 (86%) saying they would recommend it as a career to others.
Our Director of Practice and Innovation, Karin Orman, commented:
‘Our report shows how closely the different parts of the health and care system need to work together, and how dependent they are on each other. It’s positive to see the value of occupational therapy is being recognised, but it’s deeply shocking to hear occupational therapists say they fear the services they’re providing are unsafe. We need to ensure occupational therapists are able to deliver their services safely and efficiently to those who need them. This means filling all vacancies and having enough staff available to meet demand.
‘Recruitment and retention of occupational therapists is already a huge issue, and with an increase in demand driving more pressure at work, often with little to no support from managers, this will continue to be an ever-growing problem.
‘We want to see more investment in the workforce, including more occupational therapists in leadership roles, and we want leaders in the government and NHS to recognise that investment in health and social care will not only benefit everyone’s health, but could ultimately help boost the economy. We hope that this will be reflected in the forthcoming NHS workforce plan for England as well as any future workforce plans across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.’
Our recommendations for political and health and care leaders include:
- expand the occupational therapy workforce to ensure staff are available to fill current and future vacancies
- invest in the occupational therapy workforce and multi-disciplinary teams to ensure workers are properly supported in their roles
- recognise that investment in the NHS and social care is critical to a healthy population and therefore economic growth.