What is an Allied Health Professional (AHP)?

AHP’s are a vast and varied professional collective, but all play a vital part in treating, rehabilitating, and improving the lives of patients. They're the third largest group of staff in the NHS after nurses, and doctors. The AHPs are made up of 14 different professions, including paramedics and podiatrist, drama therapist and dietitians!

To find out more about each of these 14 careers, click the links on the right side of this page. 

AHPs provide system-wide care to assess, treat and diagnose patients. They also play and important role in discharging patients across social care, housing and education, as well as independent and voluntary sectors. 

Hannah W photo.jpgWelcome to the AHP Faculty Webpage. I'm Hannah Wilson, Deputy Director of Therapies at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. I'm pleased to be co-chairing the AHP Faculty with my colleague Sue Moody. I have worked across NHS services in Worcestershire for around 20 years across physical and mental health working with a wide range of our AHP professions and other multidisciplinary colleagues.  I am proud to be a strong voice for AHP’s in Herefordshire and Worcestershire ensuring that our valuable contribution is recognised and understood so that we can continue to deliver and expand our roles to provide the best care for patients and their families. Through the faculty we intend to work collaboratively to strengthen and broaden career pathways for AHP’s, ensure you have the right training and support in place to deliver your work effectively and develop a sustainable pipeline of AHP’s that will deliver our vital work for years to come.

The Allied Health Professionals Return to Practice (AHP RTP) programme is a collaborative piece of work offered across the Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS with shared policies, procedures and documents. The ambition of the ICS is to offer a supportive and proactive approach to those AHPs who wish to consider returning to HCPC register after a career break. The benefit of this system wide approach means there are greater opportunities to find a suitable supervised clinical placement that suits both the Returnee and Clinical Team.

The HCPC guidance relating to the updating requirements for AHP Return to Practice is as follows:

  • 0-2 years off the HCPC register – No requirements
  • 2-5 years off the HCPC register – 30 days of updating skills/knowledge
  • 5 years or over off the HCPC register – 60 days of updating skills/ knowledge.

Updating for Returnees can consist of a mixture of supervised clinical placement, formal courses, and private study (no more than 50% of the total hours can be private study). Supervised clinical placement alongside a member of the Returnee’s own profession can be offered by the Trust via an honorary contract (unpaid). In some circumstances, where there is an appropriate vacancy at the time of advertising, there may be an opportunity to offer a paid placement. The supervised clinical placement may mean the Returnee is working within a team with a registered professional from their own AHP profession (who has been registered for at least the previous 3 years and is not subject to any fitness to practice proceedings or sanctions) and not necessarily working in the same room as the registered professional. Consideration can be given to supervised clinical placement being offered across multiple organisations within the Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS.

Prior to undertaking a clinical placement within the Trust, Returnees must sign up to the Health Education England (HEE) AHP Return to Practice programme. There is funding to support both the Returnee (up to £800) and the organisation that hosts the supervised clinical placement (£500). Eligibility for the HEE AHP Return to Practice programme is highlighted below:

Inclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria

All qualified AHPs who have previously been registered with the HCPC and live and plan to return to work in England

Returnees looking to work outside England when they have returned to the register.

Those qualified in the UK but have not registered with the HCPC in the last 5 years

Returnees that have any fitness/condition to practice issues cited against them by the HCPC

Already registered with the HCPC and looking for a period of clinical updating as they have not practiced in a patient facing role for at least 2 years.    

 

Those who are seeking HCPC registration who have trained/qualified abroad but reside in the UK and have had their qualifications mapped by the HCPC to similar healthcare course university qualifications within the UK but requires a ‘period of ‘adaptation’ in order to go on the HCPC register.

 

Those who have qualified internationally and have already gained HCPC registration and do not require a period of adaptation as their qualification, skills and experience has been deemed fit to practice by the HCPC and have already been placed on the HCPC register –- but are wanting to seek some structured support and updating via a clinical element to help them within NHS

 

 

The Returnee must also provide written evidence of their registration history from the HCPC prior to commencing a supervised clinical placement. This programme will not support those professionals with HCPC fitness to practice sanctions against their name.

Return to practice is self-directed, lead and managed by the Returnee, with them making a professional decision as to whether they can practice safely and effectively following their period of updating. The HCPC registration is a self-declaration of competence; Clinical supervisors sign to confirm the number of hours/days Returnees have completed on placement and additional studies and not whether the Returnee is competent to practice. 

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS AHP Return to Practice programme allows the NHS Trusts to broaden the ways back into employment within the NHS, attracting valuable and experienced professionals who have taken a career break and supporting our future AHP workforce.  

For further information, please see contact details below or look for the NHS Jobs advert – ‘Return to Practice – Allied Health Professionals’

Allied Health Professionals - A Universe of Opportunities!
“find out more about the work of the AHP faculty”

Find out more about the 14 allied health professions:

  1. Art therapists
  2. Drama therapists
  3. Music therapists
  4. Podiatrists
  5. Dietitians
  6. Occupational therapists
  7. Operating department practitioners
  8. Orthoptists
  9. Osteopaths
  10. Paramedics
  11. Physiotherapists
  12. Prosthetists and orthotists
  13. Radiographers
  14. Speech and language therapists

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Click on each of the below images to find out more about what's on offer in the world of AHP! 

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