Therapists in demand

I commend Martin Davies's call for the government to revise the structure of social work training (THES, January 2), but I dispute his ill-informed comment about "leaving the majority of work with the elderly and the disabled, to care workers with little training". Is the professor familiar with the crucial role that state-registered occupational therapists play in health and social care?

According to the latest Social Services Inspectorate report on local authority occupational therapy services, a quarter of all referrals to the social services departments were dealt with by occupational therapists. There is every reason to expect that with the recommendations of the new NHS white paper, there will be further rise in demand for their services.

To this end, additional funding has been made available by the Department of Health to expand student numbers on pre-registration occupational therapy courses.

Gwilym Wyn Roberts Group head (education and practice), College of Occupational Therapists