Allied Health Professionals have a significant role to play in NHS's future

The quality of leadership of the Allied Health Professionals will be vital in determining their impact and the quality of care that patients receive.

This document shares findings from a project that NHS Improvement commissioned to evaluate current leadership arrangements for allied health professions (AHPs) in trusts in England.

The project was initiated in response to requests from directors of nursing for guidance about developing AHP leadership in their organisations. 

AHPs are the third largest workforce in the NHS. They practice in most clinical pathways and work across organisational boundaries at all stages of the pathway, providing solution-focused, goal-centred care to support patients’ independence and autonomy.

There has never before been such a need to harness their potential for transforming healthcare. However, their contributions to outcomes are often poorly understood, resulting in missed opportunities for their collective potential to support the transformation of health and care.

Successful outcomes will depend on effective leadership at all levels and across all AHPs.

This quote from the evaluation report captures the nature of the challenge and will sound familiar to many readers:

“Leadership for AHPs across the organisation is patchy and relies heavily on senior positions which are all part-time. It also relies on having a director of nursing and professions who has an understanding of AHPs, as there is no direct route to the board. The need for AHP leadership generally is not well understood nor is the need for representation of AHPs in operational matters”.