PATIENTS are waiting nearly a year for occupational therapy in Fermanagh, well in excess of the nine week target.

Health Minister Jim Wells told the Assembly that priority is given to patients who are “deemed at highest clinical risk and all other referrals are processed chronologically”.

Minister Wells was responding to a question by Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA Phil Flanagan who asked him to detail the current maximum waiting time for a visit from an occupational therapist in Fermanagh and what efforts his Department was taking to reduce the waiting time.

Speaking in the House, Minister Wells explained that the Western Trust had advised that the longest wait for occupational therapy as of September 30, 2014 was 314 days.

He said that the Trust had further advised him that service demands “currently outweigh funded staff capacity” and that “all referrals are screened on the basis of clinical need, risk and appropriateness”.

The Health and Social Care Board and Public Health Agency are currently working closely with the Trust to address the waiting time issue.

“Work is ongoing to establish the level of demand for occupational therapy services and the capacity necessary to meet such demand in line with my challenging nine week access standard,” said Minister Wells.