Employ specialist Occupational Therapist Service

All Disabled Facilities Grants referrals require an assessment by an Occupational Therapist which is a specialist field and there are limited options available for this service. Any service the council procures will need to be also approved by Lancashire County council to access the waiting list of South Ribble residents awaiting an assessment which limits the options available. The OT Service which is proposed to use already are established in the Lancashire area and are currently being used by Lancashire County Council for OT assessments and therefore already have access to all the waiting list for South Ribble which would stream line the process and reduce any unnecessary waiting times for the end user. The situation has arisen as Lancashire County Council have an extensive wait list for applicants waiting to be seen and assessed for an adaptation by an Occupational Therapist, the waiting times for South Ribble residents is up to 21 months and is one of the highest in Lancashire, to reduce the waiting times vulnerable residents are having to wait for adaptations the council is proposing to employ the services of the OT service. It is envisaged that the waiting times will be reduced to approx. 4 - 6 weeks which will bring it in line with other areas in Lancashire and should take a maximum of 6 months.