Occupational Therapy Services for the Local Authority Adult and Social Care Departments

Contracting out Occupational Therapy Assessments provides Local Authorities with significant advantages, this is particularly important in the present economic climate where the efficient use of Occupational Therapy budgets need to be maximised.

The Benefits

• Involvement of the private sector with regard to the provision of Occupational Therapy Assessment services.
• Provision of cost effective Occupational Therapist assessment services focusing on the successful outcome for your service and the service users.
• Efficient workforce planning/targeting. Working with an Occupational Therapy business that has a trained, experienced and knowledgeable workforce who are able to quickly understand your service and meet your targets.
• Flexibility and control on the size and cost of the Contract.
• Design of the Contract- you can specify precisely what you want.
• Reallocation/creative use of various pots of funding that may be available, staffing budget monies, one off grants, etc.
• A cost effective alternative to using locum Occupational Therapists, providing you with consistency, supervised and fully supported Occupational Therapists managed and arranged by Able 2 Occupational Therapy Services Limited.
• Utilising associated funding for the provision of Occupational Therapist services paying for the assessment if a major adaptation is recommended through the Disabled Facilities Grant budget.
• Continuity and quality control with our Occupational Therapy Managers, who screen assessments and ensure that reports are professional thorough, have clinical reasoning and are robust.
• A co-ordinated and tailor-made service which is designed specifically for your organisation and your service to ensure that the customer experience meets a high standard of customer care and that the service provision meets your criteria and the outcome is positive and effective.

What We Are Doing

Able 2 Occupational Therapy Services Limited is currently working with 19 Local Authority Occupational Therapy Departments with regard to assisting them to provide cost effective and efficient services to people referred for Occupational Therapy assessments.

Waiting Lists

Target dates may no longer be the Governments driving force, but it is unacceptable and distressing for your service users to be waiting months for their initial assessment.

You can allocate out a variable number of assessments from your Occupational Therapist waiting list, for Able 2 to undertake the initial assessment and arrange the provision of appropriate services.

You can contract out the whole of your service to Able 2 which has been proven to be a cost effective and efficient way of providing Occupational Therapy Services to Disabled people living within your Local Authority, whilst ensuring that your service users are seen in a timely manner.

Maintaining no Waiting List

High volume of referrals which you are experiencing difficulty allocating in house.

We can assist your Local Authority to maintain your low/nil waiting lists by Able 2 being allocated a variable number of referrals each month which you do not have the capacity to undertake.

In addition, once reduced, we can assist your Local Authority to maintain your low waiting lists by Able 2 being allocated a regular number of referrals providing a cost effective service.

Joint Working Targeting Resources

Able 2 provides Local Authorities with the mixed economy, paying for initial assessments when there are stresses within the service. Flexible provision

Examples of Service Options Available from Able 2

Service Option One - From initial assessment to final inspection

Able 2 will assess clients following referral and will progress all recommendations including major adaptations through to satisfactory completion, monitoring through our bespoke database which enables us to provide regular updates and monitoring throughout.

Service Option 2 - Initial assessment provision of equipment and minor adapts

Able 2 will assess clients following referral, and process through to satisfactory provision of equipment or completion of minor adaptations. Case will then be closed and returned to Local Authority pending adaptations for the progression of major adaptations.

Service Option 3 - The Occupational Therapy fee is paid for from the Disabled Facilities Grant, Protecting the Social and Adult care Occupational Therapy budgets

Able 2 will assess clients following referral , where major adaptations are recommended the file will be closed down to Social Services and then will be progressed through the Local Authorities Grants Department, thereby the assessment will be paid via the Disabled Facilities Grant/Housing Service.

Service Option 4 - Able 2 Home Improvement Agency Fee paid from the Disabled Facilities Grant as an Professional Agency

Able 2 Occupational Therapist will conduct a feasibility visit with our own Surveyor who will prepare scaled drawings of the existing and proposed adaptation, in line with detailed specification provided by the Occupational Therapist and we will then obtain agreement for the proposed adaptations from the service user, and progress through to completion.

Examples of the number of assessments we can undertake

Total number of Occupational Therapy Assessments we have carried out for Local Authorities in the last 12 months

Initial Occupational Therapist Assessments 5146
Follow up visits 2038

These figures relate to work that has been completed over various contracts that Able 2 are currently undertaking.

Largest number of referrals in 1 month

Below is the number of referral received and initial and follow up visits arranged and undertaken by Able 2 in a one month period.

Initial Assessments 523
Follow up visits 379

These figures relate to work that has been completed over 19 different contracts that Able 2 are currently undertaking.

Our staff are fully conversant with safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.

This topic is to be included within our Training timetable for the forthcoming year, setting out clear roles and responsibilities for responding to any concerns that our Occupational Therapists have, whilst ensuring that we have a robust system in place through our Policies and Procedures.