Introduction We aim to provide practical help and advice to enable people to live as independently as possible. We deliver a fast, efficient and responsive Occupational Therapy Service across the city. The Occupational Therapy Access Team works closely with colleagues in the Health Service to ensure that equipment and adaptations necessary for safe discharge from hospital are delivered on time.
What Services are Provided? Advice and Referral Officers provide advice and/or assessments Minor equipment and adaptations to help with daily activities around the home. To find out more about the Equipment Loan Service please click the link on the left-hand menu. Occupational Therapy is also able to provide equipment that has been assessed and recommended by professionals. The Assist Birmingham Centre promotes solutions for independent living. To find out more please click the link on the left-hand menu. An outreach team is also available to provide face-to-face services
Who is Eligible for Services? Assessments for this service are provided to residents in Birmingham who are permanently and substantially disabled and who meet our service criteria. We work with all adults aged 18 upwards.

Assessments Assessments are usually conducted by the OT Area Teams. The majority of our cases will require only one or two visits but we also handle referrals that cannot be resolved in a simple manner – here our role is to enable individuals to achieve maximum independence in the home and at work. Where suitable we are able to offer a rehabilitation programme, working closely with Social Workers aimed at avoiding unnecessary dependence on care services. We can also assess employers and people with disabilities to advise them how best to adapt employment premises.
How to Contact Us The Access Team is the first point of contact for the Occupational Therapy service. You can telephone the Access Team on 0121 303 1234 or use our Textphone Service on 0121 303 6230. Alternatively, you can email us at SCHOccTherapy@birmingham.gov.uk If you have any difficulty in explaining your situation over the telephone then arrangements can be made for us to visit you at home. If English is not your first language, then we can provide an interpreter. Following an initial telephone assessment, small items of equipment or adaptations may be ordered immediately, e.g. grab rails, helping hands etc and these will be delivered directly to you. Where a more complex problem is identified, information is directed to the Occupational Therapy area teams and arrangements will be made to carry out further assessment. For further information you can also download our leaflet available on the Leaflets and Public Information web page.
Occupational Therapy Service User Group This group enables service users to be actively involved in helping to plan, review and change Occupational Therapy Services, in partnership with Occupational Therapy staff and other agencies. The aim is to provide better services to the public. There are currently nine core members of the group who are, or have been, users of the Occupational Therapy Service. A Community Support Worker also works with the group. Our service is changing and if you are interested in getting involved with helping us to provide improved services to help all of our users, we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact us on 0121 303 3090 for more information.