Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) are a diverse group of 15 different registered clinical staff, providing diagnostic, technical, and therapeutic patient care. They are at the forefront of services using their expertise to promote recovery and independence, adding life to years, preventing relapse, and reducing risks. Every day, our AHPs play a crucial part in helping patients live their lives as fully as possible.
AHPs work to deliver effective, flexible, and innovative services to enable people to live well in their communities.
We are:
Art Therapists
Diagnostic Radiographers
Dietitians
Drama Therapists
Music Therapists
Occupational Therapists
Orthoptists
Osteopaths
Paramedics
Physiotherapists
Podiatrists
Prosthetist and Orthotists
Speech and Language Therapists
Therapeutic Radiographers
Visit NHS England and Improvement's website for more information about the 14 Allied Health Professions.
What is an Allied Health Professional (AHP) Faculty
The Hertfordshire and West Essex Allied Health Professionals (AHP) Faculty is a group of health, social care, education and training providers that work together to support the 1,961 AHPs with 413 AHP support staff working in our ICS area.
Our faculty’s aim is to encourage system-wide working across the ICS wherever AHPs are to be found. By working together, we will strengthen the AHP voice and demonstrate our unique contribution, value and impact to deliver high quality, safe effective patient care.
Instead of organisations working separately, the faculty brings everyone together under one umbrella.
The AHP Faculty works collaboratively to ensure the pipeline of AHP professionals continues to thrive and grow. We want to help our existing AHPs to get the best from their working life and to encourage the next generation of AHPs to take up a role in Hertfordshire and West Essex.
The faculty is made up of AHPs from different organisations and professions who lead on projects designed to address these priorities. We work closely with the Hertfordshire and West Essex AHP Council where AHP leads identify priorities for local AHPs.
Organisations represented by the faculty include:
NHS and other health care organisations
Local councils and other social care organisations
Universities and colleges
GP practices through Primary Care Networks - NHS England » AHPs in Primary Care Networks
Voluntary organisations and charities
Private organisations
The faculty can provide advice to those working on individual projects within organisations, however, its primary focus is to co-create and manage projects working across multiple organisations.
We work to support the following important aspects of Allied Health Professionals’ career journeys:
Work experience
Apprenticeships
Development, co-ordination and expansion of clinical placements
Preceptorship
Return to practice
Advance Practice
For more information in both health and social care roles across Herts and West Essex ICS please email: louise.connolly@nhs.net
What is a Physiotherapist
As a Physiotherapist you’ll focus on identifying and maximising movement to improve the health and wellbeing of your patients.
Your role is vital in treating a variety of conditions such as:
neurological (stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's).
neuromusculoskeletal (back pain, whiplash associated disorder, sports injuries, arthritis).
cardiovascular (chronic heart disease, rehabilitation after heart attack).
respiratory (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis).
You’ll work with people on a daily basis, recommending exercise, carrying out massage, and using high-tech ultrasound equipment or even hydrotherapy pools, depending on your patients’ needs. Once a patient’s movement problem has been diagnosed, you'll work with them to determine a treatment plan.
What is a Dietician
Dietitians translate the science of nutrition into everyday information about food and advise people on their food and nutrition choices.
You'll assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems. Your aim is to promote good health and prevent disease in individuals and communities.
You'll be skilled at translating scientific and medical research related to food and health into practical guidance for the general public. You'll also teach health professionals about diet and nutrition.
You'll work in hospitals or in the community and with individuals and communities with both healthy and sick people.
The Allied Health Professions (AHP) Strategy for England: AHPs Deliver, has been developed to provide strategic direction to the AHP community across England, to help AHPs and those they work with fully contribute to the aim of improving health outcomes for all, providing better quality care, and improving sustainability of health and care services.
The Allied Health Professions (AHP) Strategy for England: AHPs Deliver spans 2022 – 2027 and leads on from AHPs into Action in place from 2017 to 2021.
The word 'faculty' traditionally refers to the staff members within an academic institution, but in this context, it refers to the collaboration between different organisations in our Integrated Care System (ICS).
The idea of establishing faculties originated with Health Education England (HEE).
The NHS Long Term Plan outlines multiple goals for clinical and AHP services.
To achieve these goals, we need to increase the number of AHPs across England by 27,000 by 2024 and retain the AHPs we already have to meet the demand in the next 10 years.
We aim to do this by putting plans in place for the following priorities:
improving career promotion and increasing work experience for those considering career options to attract more people to consider AHP as a viable career option
promoting an increasingly diverse and inclusive workforce
expanding clinical placements – As universities are offering more places to students, there is increased demand for clinical placements. Support and assistance to achieve this is required.
increasing apprenticeship routes into AHP registration through promoting these routes and supporting the AHP support workforce to access these opportunities
understanding the reasons students leave their training courses early and working on solutions to assist
developing existing registered and support staff to encourage retention and to assist people to feel valued and satisfied with career growth options
promoting advance practice roles for AHPs
supporting career /leadership development, providing a network for AHPs in diverse non-traditional roles to grow our leadership capacity and support alternative career routes
supporting those who are returning to practice by promoting a smooth journey for those wanting to return after a break in their career
No. The faculty is made up of members from the existing workforce from these different organisations.
To become a member, you need to be:
an Allied Health Professional, AHP Support Worker or AHP Student
passionate about AHP development
interested in collaboration and believing that together we can resolve issues
self-motivated
willing to think ‘outside the box’
Staff from all levels/grades are encouraged to join, especially those interested in developing their:
Leadership skills
Project management skills
Quality improvement methodology skills
The Academy is part of the Hertfordshire and west Essex Integrated Care System where NHS organisations, in partnership with local councils and others, take collective responsibility for managing resources, delivering NHS standards, and improving the health of the population they serve.
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