And for effective workforce planning , we will empower the occupational therapy workforce to :
• Contribute to , access and use the workforce planning data and intelligence available to them .
• Use the data and intelligence to make informed decisions about their positioning within the health and care system .
Our Workforce Strategy will be delivered using action plans for each of the four nations – England , Northern Ireland , Scotland and Wales . In the plans , we will include actions that can be applied in each nation and detail :
• The position of the occupational therapy workforce using current and available data from NHS Skills for Care and the Health and Care Professions Council .
• Actions to transform and modernise the occupational therapy workforce .
• Examples of workforce modelling that can help organise skills and make sure staffing levels in services are safe .
Each workforce priority has actions with measures and timings and we ’ ll share our nation-specific plans by the end of 2024 .
Exciting opportunities
Delivering our Workforce Strategy will be a team effort . Our action plans detail individual and collective roles and responsibilities for RCOT , our members , our stakeholder and partners , and everyone , and Odeth Richardson , Chair of Council , urges everyone to get involved .
‘ Our strategy is member-driven ,’ she explains . ‘ Through open communication with members , volunteers , staff and stakeholders , we ’ ve identified surging demand for occupational therapy since the pandemic , and the exciting opportunities this presents for the profession .
‘ This insight has empowered us to prioritise our efforts effectively and move positively towards 2035 , when we will have an expanded occupational therapy workforce positioned to have maximum impact in improving people ’ s lives .’
She adds : ‘ As we progress through our action plan , we ’ ll support the development of occupational therapists and support workers , especially those from under-represented communities , throughout their careers .
‘ We will build the profession ’ s capacity for leadership , learning , research , and innovation . This will improve retention , career progression and satisfaction , and lead to better-informed workforce positioning and planning .
‘ With this strategy our occupational therapy workforce will become a powerful movement – boldly negotiating where we should be positioned to have the maximum impact for the UK ’ s communities , armed with robust evidence about what occupational therapy brings to health and social care .’
How we developed our strategy
Our strategy has been informed by the occupational therapy workforce across the UK , including our members , staff and stakeholders , such as the Executive Director of World Federation of Occupational Therapists ( WFOT ), Chief Allied Health Professions Officers / Advisers , AHP national and regional leads and representatives from government departments with responsibility for workforce .
The findings were drawn from a series of 10 workforce summits , an education summit and a workforce survey . We also held a roundtable with stakeholders in each nation , and used our RCOT Boards , working groups and forums to develop our vision and scope .
We also referred to the WFOT HR Strategy , policies and delivery plans in each country .
To find out more about the themes that are in and out of the scope of our strategy visit www . rcot . co . uk / workforce-strategy / howwe-developed-our-strategy .
Join an RCOT Workforce Strategy Advisory Group
Visit the website and complete the form to express interest in joining one or more of our advisory groups .
We have four national advisory groups to support the delivery of our first-ever Workforce Strategy . They are :
• Workforce strategy advisory group ( UKwide ).
• Advisory group for England ’ s action plan for the Workforce Strategy .
• Advisory group for Scotland ’ s action plan for the Workforce Strategy .
• Advisory group for Northern Ireland ’ s action plan for the Workforce Strategy .
Find out more at www . rcot . co . uk / workforce-strategy .
You can download the Workforce Strategy and see our overall action plan for delivery at www . rcot . co . uk / workforce-strategy .
April 2024 OTnews 17