Community Rehabilitation – a vital cog in the wheel

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) conducted a survey of their members across the UK regarding rehabilitation services

Community rehabilitation is a vital cog in the healthcare wheel, and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) is committed to promoting equitable access to quality community rehabilitation across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic and successive lockdowns have vastly increased the pressure on existing community services. In turn this has increased the pressure for the occupational therapists working in them. Now is the time for teams to work innovatively to help reduce the pressures on staff and improve quality of services for the population.

Community rehabilitation is a key part of the health and social care system, but, not everyone knows about the services and how they can help them. Community occupational therapists work within homes and communities alongside people to help them manage long-term conditions, regain independence and improve their quality of life. Importantly occupational therapists help people to do the ‘occupations’ they need, want and have to do.

This could mean overcoming challenges learning at school, going to work, playing sport or simply doing the dishes. Occupational therapists work with you to recommend adjustments to the way you live by looking at the relationship between the activities you do every day, the challenges you’re facing, and your environment. These adjustments are practical, realistic and personal to you, to help you achieve the breakthroughs you need to elevate your everyday life. Adjustments could refer to grading the activity, introducing equipment or providing additional support.

However, successive lockdowns, introduced to slow the transmission of COVID-19 have restricted access to many people’s meaningful activities such as sport, taking transport and even socialising. Furthermore, long COVID can limit a person’s participation in their activities due to a multitude of long-lasting symptoms including shortness of breath and fatigue. Community rehabilitation services and occupational therapy will be key to communities COVID-19 recovery.

RCOT recently conducted a survey of its members from across Scotland and the rest of the UK – the largest of its kind ever carried out by RCOT. 80% of respondents in Scotland noted either a significant or moderate increase in demand for occupational therapy rehabilitation services over the last six months alone. The factors most people described as driving this increase were the increased complexity of needs due to delayed interventions during the pandemic, referrals for people who have been affected by successive lockdowns, and a lack of availability of carers. The survey also raised further concerns, with 64% of respondents stating that they felt unable to deliver rehabilitation services that met people’s needs. You can read the full Rehabilitation Workforce Survey findings on the RCOT website (this link will take you away from our website).

The Scottish Government have introduced the ‘Framework for Supporting People Through Recovery and Rehabilitation During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic’. It sets out the importance of community rehabilitation services and states that these services should be integrated within primary care pathways. Occupational therapy can be life changing when teams are enabled to provide quality services.

Going forward, occupational therapists’ consideration of a person’s environment, social supports, meaningful occupations and functional skills will make them a key asset to health and social care’s COVID-19 recovery. People have a right to quality rehabilitation services and a reform of current community rehabilitation and primary care teams and the inclusion of occupational therapists within these teams could be life changing for the people accessing rehabilitation.

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