Occupational therapy Workforce Strategy action plan
This is a reduced version of the Workforce Strategy action plan – Northern Ireland.
Developing our action plan has been a team effort. We’d like to thank the member volunteers in our Workforce Strategy Northern Ireland Advisory Group who’ve helped to shape it.
If you want to know more about our Workforce Strategy action plan, or our policy and campaigning work in Northern Ireland, please contact Cliona McCarney, Policy and Public Affairs Lead for Northern Ireland at hello@rcot.co.uk.
The challenges facing the occupational therapy workforce in Northern Ireland
- Demand outstripping capacity: There is a growing need for occupational therapy services in Northern Ireland, due to an ageing population and the prevalence of long-term health conditions.
- Workforce shortages: The current workforce is under pressure, with staff shortages and retention issues impacting the profession’s capacity to provide essential services.
- Budgetary constraints: The Department of Health in Northern Ireland and the five health and social care Trusts are facing huge financial challenges – affecting the availability and quality of services in Northern Ireland.
- Upskilling the workforce: There is a need to make sure the occupational therapy workforce in Northern Ireland has the necessary qualifications, ongoing professional development opportunities and support to fulfil their roles. There’s also a need for visible career pathways that show longevity in the profession. Occupational therapy support workers need to be given the tools, training and skills to continue to play an invaluable role in the delivery of care.
- Expanding the profession: The only route to registration as an occupational therapist in Northern Ireland is via a three-year bachelor’s level university degree. This doesn’t reflect the needs of the emerging population and inhibits diversity.
The state of the occupational therapy workforce in Northern Ireland
Services in Northern Ireland are facing particularly acute challenges
Data from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust tells us that the longest wait for children’s occupational therapy is more than three years. In the South Eastern Trust, the longest wait was 973 days.
This is due to a myriad of factors, including a demand capacity mismatch and staffing challenges.
As of 31 August 2024 – there were more than 19,000 people waiting to access occupational services in Northern Ireland. More than 57% of those are waiting more than 13 weeks.
‘Trusts are delivering in excess of expected volumes, but demand is currently exceeding capacity.’
Mike Nesbitt – Northern Ireland Health Minister
Where occupational therapists are having an impact
Health and social care policy context in Northern Ireland
Health and Wellbeing: Delivering Together: 2026 recommends developments across four main areas:
1. build capacity in communities and prevention: to reduce inequalities and ensure the next generation is healthy and well
2. provide more support in primary care: to enable more preventative and proactive care, earlier detection and treatment of physical and mental health problems
3. reform our community and hospital services: so that they are organised to provide care when and where it is needed
4. organise ourselves to deliver better: by ensuring that the administrative and management structures make it easier
A misalignment between current health policy and the reality of service delivery at the coalface
The key collective actions we’ll take to implement the occupational therapy Workforce Strategy in Northern Ireland
Through our influencing work and collaborations, we will build a strong case for:
- increasing the number of pre-registration occupational therapy places in Northern Ireland
- investing in the recruitment and retention of the occupational therapy workforce in Northern Ireland
- lobbying the Executive to provide equitable access for specialist training
- increasing and highlighting the value and impact of occupational therapy by supporting and promoting research and innovation
- optimising occupational therapy in primary and secondary prevention to address health inequalities.
Workforce Strategy action plan – Northern Ireland
We’ve based our plan on the following principles laid out in our Workforce Strategy.
This set out our four workforce priorities. These are:
- optimising occupational therapy
- demonstrating value and impact
- retention and career development
- effective workforce planning.
Below is a reduced version of the Workforce Strategy action plan – Northern Ireland. To find definitions or read about how we’ll measure success, please download the full version.
Monitoring and evaluation
We’ll monitor progress through a workforce survey every three years.
Conclusion
Our action plan is designed to strengthen and expand the occupational therapy workforce in Northern Ireland, ensuring that occupational therapy practitioners are equipped and supported to meet the evolving needs of our local population.
Through targeted actions such as data collection, stakeholder engagement and tailored education programmes, we’re committed to fostering a skilled, adaptable and resilient workforce. By implementing this strategy, we aim to enhance the quality of care, improve population health and care outcomes, and ensure that occupational therapy services are accessible to everyone who needs them across Northern Ireland.
Together, we can build a future where occupational therapy practitioners are empowered to make a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of our communities in Northern Ireland.