Locum contracts, a lack of accessible rental properties and minimal education pathways into the profession are among just some of the factors contributing to a shortage of occupational therapists in Tasmania.
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This, according to members feedback received by the peak body representing OTs in the state, who says recruitment strategies to attract more health professionals to Tasmania must consider the big picture.
On Wednesday Tasmania's Health and Community Services Union launched a community campaign aimed at drawing attention to what it says is a critical shortage of OTs in the state's North.
It comes after a HACSU survey of allied health members found 70 per cent considered their workplace to be understaffed, while 75 per cent said their workload was unsustainable.
Occupational Therapy Australia Tasmania division chairwoman Fiona O'Keeffe said feedback from its members across the state aligned with these concerns.
"Certainly from the hospitals, the lead OTs are saying they are having a lot of trouble recruiting staff and maintaining them," she said.
"One of the issues is contracts. There aren't always permanent contracts to offer. That's a problem with THS across the board. No one is going to re-located, we don't think, from the mainland unless they have a permanent contract on offer."
Ms O'Keeffe said accommodation was also a factor, particularly for professionals looking to relocate from the mainland.
"It is actually really difficult to find a rental," she said.
"It seems obvious, but if you are coming down to do a three-month locum and you can't find somewhere to reasonably comfortable to live, it really puts you off the whole idea of relocating."
Occupational therapists treat people through the therapeutic use of everyday activities and are credited with preventing hospitalisations and getting patients out of hospital sooner.
There is currently only one OT servicing three medical wards at the Launceston General Hospital, while staff at the hospital's John L Grove Rehabilitation Unit say they don't have enough OTs to meet demand.
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the government's Health Staff Recruitment Taskforce, which met for the first time on Wednesday, would make recommendations on strategies to support the recruitment of a more stable and permanent workforce.
The taskforce is expected to meet monthly for the next six months, with the government committed to employing up to 280 FTE additional staff across the health system, including allied health professionals. However a specific number for additional occupational therapists has not been set.
The latest data from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency's Occupational Therapy Board up to March 31 shows there were 356 general occupational therapists registered as practicing in Tasmania.
However, Ms O'Keeffe said OTs continued to be underutilised within the health system, at the acute end of care and in the community.
"When an elderly person comes in with a fractured hip, for example, right from the beginning part of the planning is how we are going to get them home," she said.
"OT is central to that because if you can prevent an admission, you can save billions of dollars.
"But what we are hearing, from our chief OTs, is everyone is so busy that people aren't able to really practice to their widest scope of practice. So they are just putting out fires."
Ms O'Keeffe also said a lack of education pathways in Tasmania was impacting recruitment, with occupational therapy among a number of undergraduate allied health courses not offered at the University of Tasmania.
"We know if students need to leave the state to study, they are far less likely to come back," she said.
UTAS recently launched an allied health expansion program, with plans for occupational therapy to be made available in 2022.
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