The Trust was invited to the meeting by Steve Tolan, who is the Deputy Chief Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) Officer for NHS England. He was seeking representation from across AHP groups, bands, ethnicities, care settings and specialist areas.
Representing the Trust were Julie Archer, who is ELFT’s AHP Placement Lead and Tauhida Zaman, a Rotational Band 5 Occupational Therapist at Tower Hamlets Community Health Team. This was in addition to 22 AHP representatives from across the healthcare system.
Julie and Tauhida drew upon the below themes during discussions with the Minister:
- Career development for AHPs.
- Research pathways and clinical contact.
- Impact of student loan repayments.
- Opportunities for BAME AHPs and other protected characteristics.
- Vital role of AHPs within the NHS.
- Effect of apprenticeships.
To address these challenges for the profession, Julie and Tauhida spoke about the importance of investing in career development, training and apprenticeships to support the next generation of AHPs across the healthcare system.
Commenting on the roundtable, Julie Archer said: “Thank you to NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care for inviting the Trust to speak about these crucial themes.”