RCOT calls for the Government to protect children’s therapy services

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) has called on the Government to protect children’s therapists from redeployment should health and care services in England have to ‘pivot’ again to cope with COVID-19.

With winter planning by the Government now taking place, RCOT has written a joint letter to Vicky Ford MP – Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, and Jo Churchill MP– Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care, calling on the Government to ensure that families with children – particularly disabled children – and young people have access to the support they sorely need during the pandemic.

The joint letter highlights that:

• The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people, especially those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), has been significant, involving much hardship.
• Access to therapies in England, which is vital in supporting children’s physical health, mental health and development, was severely limited during the ‘first wave’ of the pandemic.
• A recent survey by the Disabled Children’s Partnership showed that over 50 per cent of families with disabled children that were receiving therapy support saw it stopped altogether during the lockdown.

Alongside Julia Scott – RCOT Chief Executive, Kamini Gadhok MBE– Chief Executive, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists; Karen Middleton CBE –Chief Executive, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy; and Amanda Batten – Chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership also signed the letter.