Occupational Therapy Waiting-List Transformation

A VISION human-centred service-redesign

The Challenge

At the start of 2023, one regional OT service carried 1,714 Priority-2 patients who had already waited more than a year.
Two-thirds had waited 1–2 years and a further 27 % 2–3 years .

Our Human-First Approach

VISION began, as always, with people before process:

• One visible list: we merged data sets across the region into a single live dashboard, so every referral and its status were clear.
• Respectful validation calls: phoning each long-waiter revealed that 20 % no longer needed care, enabling safe removal and faster focus on those still waiting.
• Fair re-deployment of capacity: mapping therapists’ availability, pairing OTs by area, and assigning patients by Eircode cut travel time and balanced caseloads.
• Weekly huddles: clinic managers met every Friday to review status and keep quality consistent across the region.

The results

• 100 % of the long-wait list cleared: every patient was either seen, scheduled or appropriately discharged between October 2023 and November 2024.
• All 1,714 referrals managed end-to-end through the project.
• Therapy teams now work from a single, transparent queue with balanced workloads and markedly higher morale.

By putting conversation and clarity ahead of paperwork, VISION helped this service move from multi-year waits to timely, person-centred care and left behind a playbook any OT clinic can run.

If your waiting lists feel immovable, let’s talk about a human-first reset that delivers.
Email etreacy@vision.com
Edwina Treacy, Programme Manager, VISION Healthcare