...a listening event for the public to help shape the future of Allied Health Professions.
The NHS is facing unprecedented times and we have needed to provide care in new and different ways. People across the NHS have proven that we can work in new ways to make sure people get the support they need. This is an opportunity to reshape how Allied Health Professionals (art therapists, dietitians, drama therapists, music therapists, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, osteopaths, paramedics, physiotherapists, podiatrists, prosthetists and orthotists, diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers, and speech and language therapists) deliver care as we recover and rebuild for our future.
We want you to tell us what’s important to you about how you receive help with your health, how Allied Health Professions working in health and social care can make the best possible experience, how we can help you stay well and how technology might help all of us in the future.
Together we can understand what’s most important and make sure we are using the full range of Allied Health Professions to provide the best care when you need it most.
Help shape the future of health and social care.
The main themes from our first engagement
- Issues related to access and inequalities categorically dominate the conversation. These include having the right professional with the right skills at the right time, ability to access services and the use of technology for virtual appointments.
- Communication, collaboration and integration were the second most discussed category with contributors wishing for more collaboration between professionals in diagnosis and treatment as well as seamless sharing of information.
- The issue of recognition and impact was discussed in the context of both the general public and the system (social care, education, health) itself needing to understand, recognise, and value the work of AHPs.
- Ideas could also be found about how the profession can innovate and develop, the need for care that is individualised, as well as the need to focus on prevention and early intervention, so that less people require the help of AHPs.