RCOT and Health Education England (HEE) are joining forces to create an Allied Health Professionals (AHP) Workforce Reform. It is a 12-month project to shape the future of the AHP personnel. The learning will be for all four nations.
The pre-pandemic NHS People Plan workforce planning illustrated that a minimum of 27,000 additional AHPs will be needed by 2024 to meet future AHP workforce demand1. AHPs are the third largest clinical workforce in the NHS, and one of the most cost-effective workforces to train. AHPs graduate as regulated, clinically autonomous practitioners with a highly developed scope of practice.
By working with HEE, we’ll identify ways to increase the number of occupational therapists working in health and social care.
We’ll be focusing on the following topics:
- Modernisation and reform
- HEE Uni-professional programme
- Return to practice
- International recruitment
- Support workers
- Neonatal
- Responsible clinicians Multi-Professional Approved Clinician (MPAC)
- Mental health, learning disability and autism innovation – case studies
- Primary care network and dataset evaluation
- Advanced practice/clinical placement development
- Inclusive engagement
Over the next 12 months, we’ll be sharing new guides, workshops, virtual events and case studies with you. Our aim is to help you and anyone considering occupational therapy as a career to develop your knowledge, skills and attributes.
Together we’ll positively impact learning and development at all levels, and see improved equity, diversity and belonging across the workforce.
Alison Keir, Project Manager for RCOT HEE Projects said: ‘AHPs have a significant contribution to make to addressing contemporary service delivery challenges and priorities, including, for example, elective care recovery and post-recovery, rehabilitation, and prehabilitation. We must advocate for investment in AHPs in health and social care to best meet the needs of the people and communities that we work with.’
Karin Orman at RCOT Director of Practice and Innovation said: ‘The aim is to work with HEE and other professional bodies and key stakeholders to define with members and the wider profession, employers, and stakeholders what the future proficiencies of AHPs need to be on graduation, through preceptorship/early careers and then later into advancing roles’.
We will oversee the project, provide sponsorship, and manage stakeholder engagement with HEE.
We’ll be sharing news of each project throughout the year, and ways you can get involved.
Interested in participating? Get in touch with us:
- Project Manager for RCOT HEE projects: alison.keir@rcot.co.uk
- Modernisation and reform and advanced practice/clinical placement development: paul.cooper@rcot.co.uk
- HEE Uni-professional programme and placement principles: carolyn.hay@rcot.co.uk
- Return to practice: anne.keen@rcot.co.uk
- International recruitment: benjamin.powick@rcot.co.uk
- University qualified therapists/early careers/apprenticeship; support workers and inclusive engagement: nikki.daniels@rcot.co.uk
- Neonatal: sally.payne@rcot.co.uk
- Responsible clinicians Multi-Professional Approved Clinician (MPAC); Mental health, learning disability & autism innovation (MH/LD/Autism Innovation); Evaluation of Primary Care Occupational Therapy: genevieve.smyth@rcot.co.uk
Reference:
1. Gowland, Rachel (10 August) 2021, Stakeholder Briefing – Issue 40, elearning for healthcare (elfh), viewed 25 July 2022