An occupational therapy (OT) team within Surrey County Council has won a national smart working award for the way it handles new requests for support from local residents.
The team covering Reigate and Banstead ran an innovative pilot programme dubbed ‘Smart Working in Occupational Therapy’ (SWOT) to both improve the service they offer to people and make better use of resources.
Their efforts were recognised in the Local Government Chronicle Workforce Awards for 2024 at an event held to coincide with a national conference on 5 November in Liverpool.
The SWOT programme overcame challenges from five other councils to win the award for smart working, which “highlight[s] those councils daring to do things differently” when delivering services for residents.
A better way to assess people’s needs
SWOT is really a catch-all name for a series of three initiatives which have challenged the traditional ways of managing new OT cases. Together, these initiatives have transformed working methods across Reigate and Banstead and improved the service given to residents.
The first and most impactful initiative is a ‘stepped’ approach which every new request for support is taken through. Rather than automatically take every resident through a face-to-face assessment, simpler – and more cost-effective – steps are worked through first. This can range from signposting to a more suitable health or community partner, to providing basic support equipment earlier, or remotely identifying a person’s needs using their answers to a series of questions alongside photos/videos of their home environment.
If a resident’s home or personal situation is more complicated, an in-person visit from a SWOT Assessor is arranged. The Assessor will arrive with some core equipment and independent living aids which they use to gauge the person’s needs. They can order any equipment identified or schedule a further telephone follow up.
Finally, an internal change to the way new calls for help are administered has been introduced. Every day three to five members of staff focus solely on triaging new cases for 1-2 hours, leading to a more dynamic and energetic atmosphere. It also serves as a great induction tool, helping new starters get up to speed quicker thanks to greater face to face support.
A step change in response
By continually refining the SWOT programme, the team in Reigate & Banstead have effectively eliminated the waiting lists that used to exist for triaging new cases, despite being the busiest OT team in the Council.
They now make better use of limited time and resources to deliver the best possible results for residents, by delivering meaningful action, more quickly.
Talking about the award win, Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care was keen to highlight what the impact the programme has had – and will continue to have as it is rolled out across the rest of the county: “We are all acutely aware of the challenge in delivering value for money when demand for adult social care is increasing rapidly. This project is a fantastic example of how we can improve services to Surrey residents and free up scarce resources for use elsewhere.
“The Occupational Therapy team for Reigate & Banstead deserve this win for their determination to make things better for the people who need our help. To do so while effectively eliminating waiting lists for new cases is something to be especially proud of. Alongside the award itself, a measure of the scheme’s success is the interest from other authorities who are now interested in launching similar schemes.”
Note to editors: Details of the other councils shortlisted and all category winners can be found at https://workforce.lgcplus.com/2024/en/page/2024-winners
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