TranslateAllied Health Professionals
Allied Health Professionals at our Trust work in a variety of settings such as Forensic Mental Health, Children and Adolescents, Learning Disability, Community Rehabilitation, Musculoskeletal Injuries, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Stroke. As a Trust we're both a Physical and Mental Health provider.
Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) adopt a holistic approach to working in healthcare. They are able to help manage patients’ care throughout the life course, from birth to palliative care. Their focus is on prevention and improvement of health and wellbeing, to maximise the potential for patients to live full and active lives within their family circles, social networks, education/training and the workplace.
You can find out more about the different types of allied health professionals and their role at our Trust below, or by clicking on one of the following role names:
Speech and Language Therapists
The Team
We currently have the following types of AHPs at our Trust:
Art Therapists
Our Art Therapists are employed to deliver therapy to children and young people (CAMHS services) and for patients in secure services. Arts therapists work closely with colleagues from a range of professions, to offer both individual and group assessment and treatment to clients. They work across with patients from admission to discharge.
All arts therapists are committed to providing a robust therapeutic framework which is evidence based and allows the individual to explore their core treatment aims. The arts therapists aim to work with individuals to promote positive behavioural changes, reduction of risk, increased self-esteem and importantly support them on their recovery journey. The interventions offered by art psychotherapists are designed to enable effective long term change and recovery.
Dietitians
Dietitians provide the unique contribution of the nutrition and dietetic services is to empower service users to optimise their health and wellbeing to achieve their individualised goals.
Our teams cover a range of clinical areas providing care for children, young people and adults over a large geographical area. We work together as integral members of the multi-disciplinary team and support other staff via production of dietary advice sheets, education and development, professional support and shadowing opportunities.
Occupational Therapists
The diversity of our services gives you the chance to work in a wide range of settings as we value the occupational therapy role. Our Trust offers the opportunity to work in either a mental health or physical health care setting. Meaning our occupation therapists work in a number of service areas, including:
- secure services
- intellectual disability
- mental health
- children and young people's services
- community physical health
- stroke
We work with a variety of ages from children up to older adults, with a range of physical, cognitive and mental health needs.
Our occupational therapists are committed to working in partnership with our service users, to enable them to have control of their lives and achieve their hopes and ambitions.
There is a network of support for occupational therapists and opportunities to work as a permanent member of staff, on a fixed term contract or on our bank. We also support people to return to practice. We have good links with the Universities and regularly have students on placements.
The Trust regularly presents at the Royal College of Occupational Therapy and other conferences and is involved in research studies.
Our Occupational Therapist use a variety of clinical models as well as occupational formulation.
Physiotherapists
Physiotherapists provide expertise within a range different specialist services for individuals at all stages of their illness, condition and recovery whilst as inpatients or within the wider community. Services include:
- Children’s Physiotherapy Services
- Community Therapy Services
- Community Stroke Teams and long term neurological conditions
- COPD Services and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Elderly Rehabilitation
- Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy
- Residential Reablement Service
- Specialist Physiotherapy in Learning Disabilities Services
Physiotherapists within the Trust use their professional knowledge and expertise to deliver patient care. They support healthier lifestyles, greater function and participation. They collaborate with others to develop new innovations and strategies to reduce delays and inefficiencies and to meet the growing demands on healthcare systems.
Speech and Language Therapists
Speech and language therapists (SLTs) work across children's and adult services with both acquired and developmental conditions. Our work includes prevention and promotion across universal, targeted and specialist settings.
We work collaboratively and can provide you with a range of experiences from children’s centres, schools and colleges, to hospital settings in acute and secondary care, learning disabilities, mental health, and forensic services.
We work across the large geographical patch and are committed to working together with service users, their families and carers as well as staff and professionals who support them, to ensure better lives for people with communication and swallowing needs.
Speech and language therapists are involved in a range of continuing professional development, research and audit opportunities. We are actively engaged with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Drama Therapists
Working in Children and Young People’s Services that experience mental health. Our Drama therapists perform controlled sessions where theatre and drama-based activities are used to observe and explore the behaviour, attitudes and emotions of individuals experiencing physical, psychological, emotional or mental health problems.
Drama therapy combines a session or group that uses creative media with a confidential, therapeutic space to address thoughts, emotions and to explore past and present traumas. This combination offers all the benefits of working with an art form alongside the benefits of a therapeutic and supportive environment.
The Drama therapist may use stories, drama, movement, music, poetry and games in combination or isolation to meet the aims, needs and preferences of the individual and group.
Opening times
Allied Health Professions in some areas work 7 days a week others work more traditional hours 9-5. If you would like to find out about a specific area please check that service for opening times.
Further information
Visit www.england.nhs.uk/ahps to learn more about Allied Health Professions. Here you can also learn more about the potential and roles of AHPs within the health, social and wider systems.
