Our first Workforce Strategy action plan for Northern Ireland has been released

We released our first-ever Workforce Strategy in March 2024.

Our Workforce Strategy sets out our vision for an expanded occupational therapy workforce – positioned to have maximum impact in improving people's health and quality of life.

We then published our nation-specific:

And now ...

Our Workforce Strategy action plan for Northern Ireland is here!

Our members based in Northern Ireland should read it on our Workforce Strategy pages.

This action plan sets out how we can all start working towards our vision for 2035 over the next three years.

Delivering our Workforce Strategy will be a team effort. Please share it with leaders, colleagues and decision-makers to start making real change.

We want to thank the members of our Workforce Strategy advisory group in Northern Ireland who helped to shape this action plan.

Josh Kendall wears a suit and smiles at the camera

'As a newly qualified occupational therapist, it gives me hope to see our collective vision taking shape, and I am confident this action plan will enable a strong, resilient and well-resourced occupational therapist workforce that is able to meet the needs of our communities as we move into the future.’

Joshua Kendall – Occupational Therapist, South Eastern Trust

Action to secure the future of the profession

‘I am excited to launch today a bold and ambitious plan for the future of the occupational therapy profession in Northern Ireland. Occupational therapy services and staff across Northern Ireland are operating in hugely difficult circumstances and despite their tireless work and efforts, staff simply cannot manage the demand. Our action plan builds the case for change and sets out a number of clear recommendations that we would urge the Executive to enact.’

Cliona McCarney – Policy and Public Affairs Lead – Northern Ireland

These recommendations are laid out in our action plan, but there are also actions leaders, managers, educators, researchers and OTs at the coalface can start making as a collective:

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.

'It has been an honour to be part of the regional working group; setting the RCOT Workforce Strategy within the local context; outlining the key challenges the occupational therapy profession in Northern Ireland faces; and devising a clear and structured action plan for change, to support the profession moving into the future.

The full potential of occupational therapy has yet to be realised within all Health and Social Care contexts in Northern Ireland.'

Diane Duffy - Occupational Therapy Governance and Quality Improvement Lead, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Our four workforce priorities

Workforce priority one: Optimising occupational therapy

We will support occupational therapy practitioners to be changemakers, using their skills and knowledge to lead and co-design innovative products, interventions and services that improve people’s lives and wellbeing.
We will champion innovative service delivery models that improve access to occupational therapy and achieve health equity for all.

Workforce priority two: Demonstrating value and impact

We will build our real-world and research evidence for occupational therapy to justify investment in the occupational therapy workforce by quantifying the impact.
We will work with our leaders to put the case for how and where to deploy our expertise to add the most value for people and their families, the wider health and care system and to avoid critical shortages within the OT workforce.

Workforce priority three: Retention and career development

We will support and promote the development of all occupational therapy practitioners, especially those from historically marginalised and under-represented communities, to be where they want to be at each stage in their career.
We will build our profession’s capacity, confidence and capability to incorporate leadership, learning, research and innovation into practice.

Workforce priority four: Effective workforce planning

We will empower the OT workforce to contribute to, access and use the workforce planning data and intelligence available to them.
We will empower the occupational therapy workforce to use the data and intelligence to make informed decisions about their positioning within the health and care system.

A sneak peek – A misalignment between current health policy and the reality of service delivery at the coalface

Inconsistent funding

The sporadic and short-term nature of funding, as government departments in Northern Ireland continue to operate with a single year budget, has led to disparities in service provision across Northern Ireland.

It also doesn’t properly leverage the full potential of the occupational therapy workforce’s skills, knowledge and creativity.

The lack of multiyear budgets and short-term nature of funding in Northern Ireland is also a barrier to research and innovation for occupational therapy practitioners.

Leadership opportunities

Occupational therapists are often not allowed to apply for certain leadership and senior management positions.

The legislative requirement to have a registered nurse on the executive board of Trusts is not reciprocated for Allied Health Professions (AHPs), limiting the capacity for occupational therapists to lead collaboration and systemic change.

Occupational therapists are also often excluded from applying for some research funding opportunities, which further hampers their ability to lead change.

Demographic data

Inadequate and inconsistent demographic data prohibits effective workforce planning efforts.

Lack of recognition for the power and potential of occupational therapy

There’s a lack of understanding and appreciation for the power of occupational therapy and our unique role in addressing broader system challenges and opportunities.

This lack of understanding of the unique core skills of occupational therapists by operational leadership, outside of the profession, can lead to occupational therapists being given more generic job roles – impacting job satisfaction and retention.

‘This was an opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by all and to consider how we can future-proof the growing demand for our profession within the province and further afield.’

Elma McAvoy – Practice Education Co-ordinator, Southern Trust

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