Community Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service Request for Assistance Guideline

Occupational Therapists work with children and young people who have difficulties with the functional skills necessary for their everyday life.  The Occupational Therapist will aim to enable the child to be independent as possible and will support children, their families and those closest to them to maximise their opportunities to develop in the following areas:

• Functional abilities e.g. dressing, eating, toileting etc
• School skills e.g. pencil control, access to the environment, attention and concentration
• Play skills
• Sensory regulation
• Gross and fine motor skills
• Routines

The policy has been developed to offer guidance in gathering the required information for processing a request effectively and to enhance accessing the most appropriate outcome in a timely manner.

The Children & Young People’s Occupational Therapy Service has a clearly documented system for prioritising requests that recognises levels and degrees of need therefore all requests will be prioritised appropriately in identifying the most appropriate outcome in relation to the request received. 

Request for Assistance Criteria

For a request to be considered by the Children & Young People’s Occupational Therapy Service the following criteria must be met:

1.1 The child/young person must be aged between 0 – 18 years

1.2 The child/young person will have a permanent residence in the Scottish Borders.  Children/young people who are looked after away from home and are resident in the Scottish Borders can also access the Service.

1.3 The child/ young person if of school age, must still be in school education and have not left the school system into further education or employment.

1.4 The child/young person will have difficulties in performing functional daily living activities such as self-care, accessing educational opportunities and play.

1.5 Parents/carers must have given informed consent to request and agreed to engage with the Occupational Therapy process.

1.6 Requests are expected to contain sufficient information to enable informed decision making about the most appropriate outcome.

1. Requests for Assistance from Education Professionals

School and ELC staff who have concerns around a child’s functional skills, may seek advice and assistance from an Occupational Therapist.   This discussion may result in any of the following outcomes: Reassurance, Advice & Strategies, Signposting to an alternative service or individualised Occupational Therapy Input.

The Access process is outlined at the link below:

Assistance From Education Professionals Flowchart

• Discussions will be recorded using an Initial Conversation RFA Form (See appendix 1) and uploaded to EMIS.
• An RFA Outcome summary (see appendix 2) will also be completed, uploaded to EMIS and shared with the requester.
• If a request for assistance is identified as requiring Individualised intervention, it will be prioritised accordingly (See Appendix 3) and placed on the waiting list.

2. Requests for Assistance from Professionals

Professionals are able to request assistance for any child or young person with functional concerns, using the NHS Borders Occupational Therapy request for assistance form (Appendix 6).

• Health professionals who identify a child with functional difficulties who is in the education system are encouraged to liaise with the child/young person’s ELC/school to proceed with request for assistance to Occupational Therapy as outlined in Section 1.
• Health professionals can submit a request for assistance using the relevant documentation if necessary.

All Request for Assistance Forms  must be completed fully and sent via Task on EMIS, or sent by post to the AHP Admin, as outlined on the request form.

3. Direct access to the Children & Young People's Occupational Therapy Service for parents/carers and children/young people

• Parents/ carers, children/ young people may Request Assistance directly from the service by telephoning the service enquiry line on 01896 826033 or the enquiry inbox; OTEnquiries@borders.scot.nhs.uk
• All requests will be responded within 5 working days – as per process, (See appendix 4).
• Discussions will be recorded using an Initial Conversation RFA Form (See appendix 1) and uploaded to EMIS.
• An RFA Outcome summary (see appendix 2) will also be completed, uploaded to EMIS and shared with the requester.

Responsibilities

Implementation Plan

Share with Occupational Therapy Service Lead, Joanna Stewart and have available to all partner agencies if requested.

Review biannually

Appendix 1 - Initial Conversation RFA Form

Appendix 2 - RFA Outcome Summary

Appendix 3 - Request for Assistance Response Form

Appendix 4 - Request for Assistance, Waiting List Priorities

Appendix 5 - Procedure for Processing Requests for Assistance, incl Enquiry Line and Enquiry Inbox

Appendix 6 - Request for Assistance from Professionals