What would occupational therapists do if they had more staff?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Therapy
• Rehabilitation Services

Background:

• Staffing levels significantly impact departmental capacity and service delivery.
• Resource allocation in therapy departments often prioritizes individual treatment over other activities.
• Perceptions of sufficiency are linked to the number of available therapists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess therapist staffing levels and their perceived sufficiency in clinical departments.
• To identify current treatment concentrations and time allocation within therapy services.
• To explore desired service developments contingent upon increased staffing.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was distributed to 203 departments.
• Data collected on staff sufficiency, therapist numbers, and time allocation.
• Analysis compared departments with perceived sufficient versus insufficient staff.

Main Results:

• Only 18% of responding departments felt they had adequate staff.
• Departments with sufficient staff had significantly more therapists.
• Excessive time was spent on administration and travel, limiting direct therapy.
• Diversional activities, patient caseload, and pre-discharge visits were areas for desired development.

Conclusions:

• Insufficient staffing is a prevalent issue in therapy departments.
• Increased staffing could enable expansion of patient-centered and rehabilitative services.
• Current resource allocation may not align with desired service development goals.