Scotland policy and public affairs update

A key moment for national leadership

The Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAPHO) role is now open, with applications closing on Friday 5 June.

This role is critical to how occupational therapy is represented at the national level and to how priorities for workforce, leadership and service development are shaped across Scotland.

Thank you Carolyn

As this process begins, we've written to thank the outgoing CAHPO for the Scottish Government, Carolyn McDonald, for her work in the role and for representing occupational therapists. She has been a strong advocate for Allied Health Professions and for occupational therapy. We are grateful for her leadership and the support she has given our profession.

The CAHPO role will continue under a three-year Service Level Agreement. We will keep a close eye on what happens next. Strong professional leadership matters to occupational therapists across Scotland, and we look forward to working with the new postholder once appointed.

Meeting with AHP leadership

We also met recently with the new Chief Nursing Officer, alongside Allied Health Professionals Scotland leadership and Scottish Directors of AHPs. It was encouraging to hear how much she values AHP leadership and her commitment to welcoming a new CAHPO into her team. We shared our priorities for AHPs across Scotland and identified opportunities to work together across professions.