The AHP Faculty works collaboratively to ensure the pipeline of AHP professionals continues to thrive and grow. We do this by focusing on our AHP workforce through partnerships and projects.
To find out more about AHP Faculty, watch this short animation:
Our AHP Faculty workstreams are summarised in the chart below:
Support Workers
Your AHP Support Workforce Lead for HIOW: Suzanni Strickland
My Role has been created to:
- Implement the HIOW AHP support worker strategy
- Establish a community of practice across the system that represents AHP support workers
- Ensure that the work of AHP support workers is recognised and celebrated
As a support worker myself, I am really keen to understand the challenges that support workers across the system are facing and be a voice in order to address these themes. I also want to utilise the existing skills and passion of support workers keen to be part of AHP support worker development – please get in touch at suzanni.strickland1@nhs.net
Please visit the Health Education England website for information on Developing the Role of AHP Support Workers
You can also read our AHPs Support Worker Development Strategy here.
FInd out more about AHP Support Worker resources here and check out AHP Support Worker: Training Resources HIOW.
For information on apprenticeships please visit AHP Apprenticeships - HIOW.
Placements across 4 Pillars of Practice
Practice Based Learning involves a range of learning opportunities to support the student’s development where students apply and consolidate their learning. Such opportunities bring together academic theory, workplace practices and knowledge around culture of an organisation that accelerates their skills and development towards competences required for professional registration (HEE 2020).
HIoW AHP Faculty - Supporting learners in practice - LibGuides at Health Education England-South
Click on the link to see a summary infographic of our Clinical Placement Expansion Programme.
Click on the link to read our SOP on Placement Capacity Calculation.
Preceptorship
Preceptorship is a period of structured transition for the newly registered practitioner during which he or she will be supported by a preceptor, to develop their confidence as an autonomous professional, refine skills, values and behaviours and to continue on their lifelong learning.
Evidence has shown that a period of preceptorship is a positive experience for practitioners facilitating socialisation, confidence and competence of newly registered healthcare staff as well as having a positive impact on the patient experience and patient outcomes as well as on staff retention.
In January 2022, Hart Ridge Consulting Limited (HRCL) were commissioned to undertake an independent evaluation to establish the current offer and experience of Allied Health Professionals (AHP) across Hampshire and Isle of Wight (HIOW), identify what good looks like, and make recommendations to develop the programme further to ensure all newly qualified AHPs have a supported integration into the workplace. Please find the Evaluation Report here.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight AHP Community is committed to promote the importance and relevance of effective and inclusive preceptorship to all newly registered AHP across our system. To this end we have published our Preceptorship Charter.
We invite our newly registered staff to join us for PPI training, please see our PPI Training poster for more information.
Multi-professional preceptor training launches - The first sessions of a pioneering e-Compendium are now available to support preceptors across nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions (AHP). You can find more information here.
NHS England have a selection of Preparing for your future guides for Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Diagnostic Radioagrapher and Midwife.
International Recruitment
We are excited to welcome 112 AHPs from abroad since July last year, with some still arriving. This is the result of a massive effort from all our organisations working in collaboration.
These fantastic staff are making a great contribution to filling our vacancies where we are unable to recruit locally, despite increasing our supply routes. We admire the courage of our internationally educated staff to leave behind what they know to come to work and live in a new country. We call on all our staff to be allies, to reach out and support your colleagues in this transition so that they can be the best they can be.
We are developing resources to give people easy access to information and resources to help them settle into new roles. Please get in touch through the faculty email hiowicb-hsi.hiow.ahp.faculty@nhs.net if you would like to contribute.
Please see our AHP International Recruitment Collaborative infographic for a great summary of our activity.
Resources:
Profession Specific Focus
Radiography
Please click on the link to view the Radiography Workforce Project Closure Report
Careers
AHP Career Ambassadors
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight AHP Faculty works in collaboration with 350+ NHS Careers, an education outreach programme across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight aimed at students aged 5–18 years. The programme gives young people the opportunity to gain insight to the wealth of opportunities that a career in our NHS can offer.
Children’s perceptions about career journeys are created and influenced at a much younger age then previous thought.
We aim to raise awareness of the AHP professions as a career, to increase applicants entering the AHP community.
25 People have already signed up through 350+ to suppot this work as careers ambassadors, including: Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech & Language Therapists, Orthoptist, Operating Department Practitioners and Radiographers.
We want to expand this to include all our AHP professions.
AHP Career Ambassadors can be anyone in an AHP role (registered or unregistered) who choose to volunteer and engage in career promotion activities at a local, regional and/or national level.
We understand you are busy! Working with 350+ ensures a co-ordinated approach and minimise the time needed for preparation with a range of resources available for you to use.
Please complete our AHP Career Ambassador Registration to join the rest of our career ambassadors.