Sport for Confidence is an occupational therapy-led organisation working at the intersection of health, sport, and physical activity. Around 52 staff, more than 20 of them OTs, use physical activity as a clinical tool for assessment and intervention, across a caseload with no exclusion criteria. More than 80% of the people they see live with three or more long-term health conditions. Their focus sits deliberately in the gap the system usually misses: reaching people before a crisis, not after one.
A model built from lived experience
Lyndsey, Lead Occupational Therapist, has spent 26 years in occupational therapy. Before beginning her career, she was a successful athlete, representing her country in netball. In her early twenties, a rare autoimmune illness brought that chapter of her life to an abrupt end, leaving her seriously unwell and unable to carry out everyday activities independently and requiring many months of treatment and rehabilitation.
Experiencing healthcare from the perspective of a patient, and the impact that losing independence can have, fundamentally shaped Lyndsey's approach to care. It reinforced her belief that lived experience is essential in designing services that are compassionate, person-centred and focused on what matters most to the people who use them.
