Celebrating AHPs Day

Every year on the 14th October – Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) come together to celebrate being part of the AHP family. It is a social movement that enables AHPs from different backgrounds and organisations to collaborate within and outside of their services, organisations and regions.

The 14th day of October was chosen to represent the 14 different AHP Professions.

AHPs play a crucial role in government policies and transformational care, with significant opportunities to support the delivery of the NHS long Term Plan, focusing on:

• Preventing ill health and supporting healthier lives
• A safe, high-quality service
• Transforming out of hospital care
• Supporting and ensuring collaborative and integrated working with acute and community services
• Supporting improvement in efficiency and productivity

Do you know which professions makes up the AHP family? The are 14 – how many can you name?

Here is the full list:

– Occupational Therapists         – Physiotherapists         – Dietitians         – Radiographers         – Podiatrists/Chiropodists

– Prosthetists and Orthotists         – Drama Therapists         – Music Therapists         – Art Therapists        – Paramedics

– Operating Department Practitioners          – Orthoptists        – Osteopaths       – Speech and Language Therapists

I am proud to be an AHP and I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of AHPs during my career. The COVID-19 pandemic has truly put our professions under the spotlight and demonstrated just how important and valuable our AHP workforce is.

I want to say a big thank you to all of our AHPs colleagues who we work with directly and indirectly.

April Thompson. Head of Therapies at HomeLink Healthcare