UNISON Scotland and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) welcome that occupational therapists working in social work will be included in the scope of the Social Work Partnership that’s being established by the Scottish government.
The partnership will consist of the government’s Social Work Agency (SWA), CoSLA and Social Work Scotland (SWS), and will be responsible for workforce planning, governance, education and training.
Also included in the scope of the partnership are social workers, social work assistants, other para-professionals and residential childcare workers.
Chair of UNISON Scotland’s social work issues group, Stephen Smellie said: “Occupational Therapists play a critical role in local social work teams. Their inclusion in the scope of the Partnership recognises that fact.
“UNISON, alongside colleagues in RCOT, have advocated from the beginning of discussions about setting up a Social Work Agency and Partnership, for the inclusion of occupational therapists and have lobbied the government’s chief social work adviser, CoSLA and Social Work Scotland to achieve this.”