12 months ago over 800 people were waiting for an occupational therapy assessment…now there are less than 250.
Wrexham Council’s Occupational Therapy Service has made huge strides over the past year – drastically cutting waiting lists while continuing to provide first-rate support.
The service helps people who are struggling with day-to-day living due to mobility or health issues – helping them find the right support so they can live as independently as possible and have a good quality of life.
In April 2023 there were 859 people waiting for an Occupational Therapy assessment, but by March 2024 the number had been slashed to 248.
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The service has driven down waiting lists by focusing on managing demand, prevention and recruitment.
Councillor John Pritchard, Lead Member for Adult Social Care, explains more about the approach…
He says: “One of the most important things we did was outsource 600 assessments to an external provider. This made a big dent in waiting lists, and freed up our staff to focus on other aspects of the service.
“We also developed a self-help guide to encourage people to find their own solutions around independent daily living where possible. The guide has been shared across departments and is available on the council website.
“We also set-up a Community Assessment Clinic at the Cunliffe Centre, with mocked-up living quarters – including a bathroom and a bedroom – where assessments could be undertaken.
“Again this helped us work more quickly through our waiting lists and allowed us to sign-post people to the self-help guide where appropriate.
“All of these things have made a huge difference, and although we still have work to do, our waiting lists are now much more manageable.”
Recruiting and retaining the right people has also played a key part in the project, with specialist job roles being created, as well as initiatives to grow and develop existing staff.
Councillor Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham Council, says the progress in Occupational Therapy is an example of how councils have to think outside the box.
He says: “Demand for council services is very high, and with limited resources, we have to manage that demand in the best way possible. We have to think differently and take a fresh approach.
“The work to reduce waiting lists in our Occupational Therapy service over the past 12 months is a fantastic example of this – we’ve looked at how we can do things differently, and how we can help people support themselves where possible.
“The Occupational Therapy team and wider social care department has worked incredibly hard and achieved a remarkable outcome, and although these are unprecedented financial difficulties for local government across the 22 authorities in Wales, it shows that we can still be innovative in how we deliver services to our communities.”
