The Allied Health Professions team provides treatment and help to: rehabilitate adults and children who are ill, injured, have disabilities or special needs, to live life as fully as possible. They work across a wide range of different settings in the community, for example in GP practices, people’s homes and schools, as well as hospitals. They often work in the NHS, the independent sector or for charities.
At the frontline of healthcare, all the allied health professions involve working directly with patients, usually one-to-one, but sometimes with groups of people who share similar health problems or goals.
Allied Health Professional roles
Read about each role in more detail.
Support worker
Support workers provide high quality and compassionate care to individuals. You will carry out well-defined routine clinical duties like monitoring an individual’s conditions (by checking things like blood pressure, temperature or weight), checking on their overall progress, comfort and wellbeing within Community Hospitals, sexual health centres,
Training
- Healthcare Assistant Level 2 Apprenticeship Standard
- Health and Social Care Level 2 Care Certificate.
Your pathway options
Senior support worker
Senior support workers help registered practitioners deliver healthcare services to people. As an experienced support worker, you carry out a range of clinical and non-clinical healthcare or therapeutic tasks, under the direct or indirect supervision of the registered healthcare practitioner.
Training
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker level 3 apprenticeship Standard
- Health and Social Care level 3 care certificate
Your pathway options
Nurse associate
The nursing associate is a highly trained support role to deliver effective, safe and responsive nursing care in and across a wide range of health and care settings.
Community Nursery Nurse Nursing Associates work independently, and with others, under the leadership and direction of a Registered Nurse within defined parameters, to deliver care in line with an agreed plan.
Training
- Nurse Associate Level 5 apprenticeship standard
Your pathway options
Assistant practitioner
Assistant practitioners work as part of the wider health and social care team and have direct contact with patients, service users or clients providing high quality and compassionate care.
Assistant practitioners work at a level above that of healthcare support workers and have a more in-depth understanding about factors that influence health and ill-health. Assistant practitioners work in cardiac, pulmonary, rehab, discharge, community nursery nurse and health visiting teams.
Training
- Assistant Practitioner Level 5 Apprenticeship Standard
Your pathway options
Allied health professional
The qualified band 5 allied health professional works in a range of different roles within inpatient, community, adult, paediatric and learning disability settings.
Allied health professionals are a key part of the multidisciplinary teams that meet the health and care needs of patients and service users. Once they have sufficient experience, allied health professionals are also expected to support students on practice placements.
Training
- Allied health professionals can undertake both undergraduate or postgraduate training programmes.
- Apprenticeship options are also available.
Your pathway options
Specialist allied health professional
The specialist allied health professional is a Band 6 role. As well as having responsibility for a caseload of patients / service-users, additional duties may include supervision of junior staff, providing training, completing audits, and conducting research.
Training
To become a specialist allied health professional, an individual would need to demonstrate appropriate skills and experience.
The training required will differ depending upon the clinical specialism but may include:
- Practice educator training
- Coaching and mentorship training
- Specific clinical courses such as Bobath therapy, sensory integration and constraint induced movement therapy.
Your pathway options
Advanced clinical practitioner
This is a band 7 position and so there would be an expectation that the clinician would have significant clinical and leadership experience. The advanced clinical practitioner will often still have responsibility for clinical work but may see only the more complex cases.
They will generally be responsible for managing the therapy teams and overseeing the development of care pathways, recruitment of staff, and the day to day operation of the team.
Training
- The role requires significant clinical and leadership experience. You will likely to have gained a variety of postgraduate qualifications related to their discipline and may well be involved directly in research and strategic development activity.
Your pathway options
Professional lead
This is a senior management position within the trust and is generally an 8a banding.
The professional lead works closely with all of the clinical teams to develop the strategic vision for the profession. They will be involved in the creation of care pathways, risk management, budget management, recruitment of staff, and are the public face of the profession on behalf of the trust.
Training
- Professional Leads would generally have substantial postgraduate experience and usually a formal management qualification.
Your pathway options
Consultant allied health professional
Consultant allied health professionals (AHPs) work with colleagues to provide direction for professional practice and service improvement. This part of the role involves the development and implementation of policies, key recommendations and evaluation strategies to improve services at a local and national level.
Training
- Educated with a health or social services related masters level qualification.
- Significant clinical experience and expertise in a specialist area.
Your pathway options
Assistant director of allied health professions
The assistant director of allied health professionals has authority and responsibility to provide strategic leadership for AHPs within the trust. This includes working in close liaison with AHP leads, clinical leads, operational leads, senior management and the executive management team.
As the senior professional representative of AHPs within the trust, the AHP assistant director is accountable for the provision of expert advice, including the development and implementation of strategy and policy.
Training
- Health or social services related masters level qualification.
- Registered AHP working at masters level as demonstrated by continuing professional development or lecturing on masters level courses, research and publications and equivalent experience.
- Evidence of post-registration development.
- Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge.
- Professional knowledge acquired through a degree, supplemented by specialist training to doctorate or equivalent level, management qualification or equivalent experience.
Your pathway options
Deputy chief operations officer
As a key member of the senior leadership team, the deputy chief operations officer supports the chief operating officer in delivery of the strategy and contributes to the development and implementation of our key objectives to deliver efficient services and effective patient care.
The deputy chief operating officer has specific responsibilities and accountabilities for successful operational leadership and management, creating a supportive and responsive operational management leadership across the organisation, and with our partners.
Training
- Educated to masters level, or demonstrable equivalent experience.
- Significant experience working at a senior level within a complex organisation.
- Experience of development of improvement programmes.
Your pathway options
Chief operating officer
The chief operating officer oversees the delivery of high quality, cost effective services that are innovative and responsive to the needs of patients whilst meeting NHS and other contracted activity.
They hold shared accountability with the executive team and board for the strategic direction, oversight and development.
Training
- Educated to masters degree level or equivalent level of experience in a management and leadership role.
- Evidence of relevant continuing professional and personal development.