University and council partnership launches new Occupational Therapy clinic, helping Cumbrians to manage their health and strengthen care services

It will support the growing number of individuals who need help from the local authority’s Adult Social Care teams whilst developing future generations of skilled OT professionals. 

Occupational therapists are dual-trained allied health professionals, trained in both physical and mental health conditions, who work across all health and social care settings. Their unique focus is on supporting people to engage in their everyday living activities and improve their standard of living and wellbeing. This could be at home, work, or other locations.   

The Adult Social Care Clinic at the university’s Fusehill Street campus in Carlisle is run by qualified Cumberland Council OTs with BSc (Hons) and MSc Occupational Therapy students from the university’s Institute of Health as part of the team. It utilises specialist on-campus areas that are traditionally used by students to hone clinical skills in an educational setting. 

The demand for occupational therapy services is high and continues to grow due to Cumbria’s aging population; the clinic provides choice for those who can travel to the university site to be seen more quickly. More people can be seen in a clinic setting compared to the traditional method of OTs making individual home visits. This helps to manage waiting lists as well as individuals who seek support from the service. 

Supporting the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the clinic also enables University of Cumbria OT students to develop their skills by working alongside expert practitioners.  

With its long-standing reputation in training allied health professionals, University of Cumbria continues to work with employers to build higher level skills for the local workforce whilst delivering innovative solutions to address challenges faced by NHS and social care services. 

Susie Wilson, Professional Lead for Occupational Therapy at the University of Cumbria, pictured said: 

“We are delighted to partner with the Occupational Therapists in Adult Social Care in this exciting, contemporary service initiative which aims to offer fast track occupational therapy assessment for people in the Carlisle area.   

“It provides an excellent authentic learning experience where students can actively engage and work alongside expert occupational therapists.  This year, the focus of OT Week that runs until 10 November is ‘The Power of Occupational Therapy – Transforming Health and Social Care’.  

“This is a brilliant example of a new way of working that aims to transform social care delivery for people locally.” 

Doreen Singleton, Principal Occupational Therapist and Service Manager at Cumberland Council, said:  

“This clinic is a great example of a joint initiative which not only offers more choice and a timelier assessment for some of our customers who are waiting for our services, but also helps skill up our future potential workforce.  

“Only by working together across the breadth of our social care, health and educational landscape can we maximise our potential to meet people’s needs. This initiative brings that added value now and hopefully for the future by further embedding of practice opportunities within the educational setting.” 

The OT clinic is the latest example of Cumberland Council and University of Cumbria partnering to support NHS workforce development and to build health and community services. 

Cumberland Council is working closely with the university’s Institute of Health to lead the Cumberland Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), which launched on 1 January 2024. 

Funded by £4.8million invested by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the NIHR Cumberland HDRC will create a research centre of excellence to help identify and address health-related issues affecting people in north and west Cumbria. 

To find out more about OT visit https://www.rcot.co.uk/about-occupational-therapy/what-is-occupational-therapy.  

Details of Occupational Therapy programmes at the University of Cumbria are available at https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/occupational-therapy/ or upcoming open events can be found at https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/events/