I’m very pleased to say that the ongoing partnership between the Owl Centre and this site will continue through 2023 and Rhodri has provided a summary below of what has been happening at the Centre this year in the light of the fall out from the pandemic – on a lighter note, he also includes some recruitment he did in unusual circumstances at a faraway location!
Here’s Rhodri’s update and may I thank him and the Owl Centre for their continuing support:
“The Owl Centre staff and therapists have had a very busy year. As is well known, many NHS waiting lists have grown even longer as a result of the pandemic, with the result that NHS capacity hasn’t been sufficient to reduce these lists to acceptable levels. As such, a number of trusts have asked us to help by providing Autism and ADHD diagnostic assessments and treatment for adults and children, and speech and language therapy for children with Education, Health and Care Plans. We have invested heavily in our IT system in order to be able to cope with the number of patients involved, and to deliver a quick and effective service. It has been a challenge but the results have been incredibly pleasing: it is heart-warming to have received many emails of thanks from grateful patients and their families who, without our partnership with the NHS, would still be languishing.
The focus of the football world now moves to Qatar, of course, and we wish Wales the very best of luck with their World Cup ambitions. In June, I was able to travel to Rotterdam to watch the Netherlands match, and followed this up with a trip to Brussels in September to see the clash with Belgium. On that trip, I had a chance conversation with a Cardiff City fan who hasn’t missed a match (home or away, including summer tours) for 22 years. He mentioned that he would be interested in working for The Owl Centre, and, with one thing leading to another, he will be joining our team in January as Head of Development. For that trip, it was nice to have mixed business with pleasure!
Finally, I’d like to thank Paul for his blog posts throughout the year and for allowing The Owl Centre to be a sponsor. We hope that this can continue into 2023.
On which note, from everyone at The Owl Centre, we’d like to wish all City and Wales fans a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.“
