Denise Head of Occupational Therapy "I'm professional head of all occupational therapy (OT) staff in a large acute teaching hospital. I need to ensure occupational therapy provides a quality service."

Denise is responsible for all professional issues relating to OT. She is responsible for Continuing Professional Development of staff, monitoring standards and ensuring quality of service.

Why did you become an occupational therapist?

At the age of 15 I went on a work experience placement at a hospital and I had access to occupational therapy. I knew that was what I wanted to do. I saw that it would give me an opportunity to work with people and would provide variety and extending areas of work. After A levels (English and History) I went to a School of Occupational Therapy and completed a diploma in OT.

After 20 years I'm still excited by the job and never bored. There are always new things to learn and develop.

What do you do as Head of OT?

I manage a staff of about 100 people. As manager I'm responsible for staffing. This includes the recruitment of new staff and providing in-service training; part of this training could be supporting people to get a degree level qualification in OT. I need to manage staff schedules so staff members can have time for continuing professional development. It's important for staff to have regular performance reviews both for their own development and for ensuring a quality service; I manage these as well.

I also have responsibility for the performance management agenda of the service. This means making sure people using the service get the very best service available.

I have to make sure the standards of service are high, that there's adequate supervision for staff. I work towards improving the working lives of staff by providing a flexible working environment, as well as evaluating staff attendance. I monitor waiting lists and access targets for the service, too.

In addition I have financial responsibility for the budget.

I work closely with other Health and Social Care Professionals within eight organisations. We link with these organisations to provide the right service for people within the community. We work together in partnership not competition for the benefit of the community.

How are you involved in the training of new OTs?

I'm involved in the development of the programme for OT education. I'm working with the initial training establishments to get additional places available to cover the jobs we shall have in the future plans for the service. I hope that by looking at rotation schemes across organisations that people will see the variety a career in OT can offer and therefore keep the people we train in the service.

What are your biggest challenges as a manager?

I think it's meeting the growing needs for occupational therapy. This has come about because people are recognising the importance of OT to the quality of life and how people function in daily living.

There's now a need for more OTs, to help people come out of hospital and back into their homes and to maintain people in their homes. One of the greatest challenges for the future is moving OTs from the acute hospital setting and into the community.

What do you see as the future for occupational therapy?

I feel it's very important to have strong managers and leaders within OT to support occupational therapists in all settings.