Sir, - As an occupational therapist working in the public health system, I am offended by Mr Ruairi Quinn's assertion that I and my colleagues are greedy, or that we are jumping on the bandwagon on the tails of the nurses awards. Occupational therapists have been working in very difficult circumstances, with demands outstripping resources.
I work with people who have had strokes and by giving a person with a stroke the adaptive techniques and equipment necessary, we can ensure s/he can get to the toilet independently and safely, can feed him/herself with one hand, can wash and dress again, without help - doing the things that people take for granted. Our input can make the difference between a person remaining at home, or having to be admitted into hospital or institutional care.
Our training is now a four year honours degree course and, with a requirement of 505 points, is one of the most difficult courses to get into. A new graduate receives £15,708 a year, which is approximately £6.86 an hour after tax, with no payment for overtime. After 12 years' experience, they can reach the top of the scale at £19,640. No wonder we are losing so many new graduates abroad, when they are being offered £20-25,000 a year - earning more than the managers of the departments in which they have trained.
Our pay historically has been linked to the ward sister grade, and this is now being ignored. As of June 1997, the basic grade of occupational therapists' salary will fall £4,000 below the ward sister grade. Is it any wonder that we are also increasingly losing experienced occupational therapists to private practice and private companies?
Occupational therapy was last reviewed in 1980. In 1991, and again in 1994, we were at the tables for negotiations when the shutters came down. The Government this time has told us, with our other Allied Health colleagues, that it could not negotiate with us until larger groups such as nurses and clerical staff were settled. And, yet again, the shutters are coming down.
Two recent reports from the Department of Health ("Services for People with Physical and Sensory Disabilities" and the Health Strategy) have highlighted the need for more occupational therapists in the country to meet the changing needs of our population. There has been a recommendation for 80 extra, but at the moment, we do not have enough staff to fill existing posts. With only 320 occupational therapists covering four million people in the Republic of Ireland, in comparison to 300 working in Northern Ireland, we are grossly under (wo)manned.
Yours etc.,
M.Sc. Dip COT MAOTI,
Erne Terrace,
Dublin 2.