Solent NHS Trust shortlisted for the national CAHPO Awards
A dedicated team of Allied Healthcare Professionals and Nurses at Solent NHS Trust have been shortlisted for the prestigious national CAHPO (Chief Allied Healthcare Professionals Officer) Awards, for their work on transforming Solent’s Allied Health Professional (AHP) and nursing workforce through the development of advanced and consultant clinical practitioner roles.
The AHP and nursing team, which includes a Speech and Language Therapist, Podiatrist, Physiotherapists and Nurses, took up the challenge of radically redesigning the workforce, as set out in the NHS Long-term Plan, which argues for a broader, multi-disciplinary workforce to tackle the rising complex needs of our communities.
As a direct result of this work, over 350 Solent colleagues have attended conferences and workshops to improve their knowledge of advancing practice and provided highly positive feedback. Significantly more staff are due to commence fully funded Advanced Clinical Practice Masters (MSc) courses in September, 12 AHP’s and nurses have been supported to undertake the ePortfolio (Supported) Route in recognition that they are already working at an advanced level and there is now a team of 9 Consultant Practitioners operating across AHP and nursing roles.
Angela Anderson, Chief of Nursing & Allied Health Professions, Officer Nursing and Allied Health Professionals at Solent NHS Trust, said “The direct benefits of this new way of working cannot be overstated. Our patients already receive great care from our AHP and nursing teams but can now benefit from the additional investment in our workforce’s professional development. The ability to manage complex medical cases by our non-medical workforce has now increased significantly along with the range of treatments available to those professionals, this benefits the people who use our services with potentially shorter waits to see the right health care professional.
Whilst Advanced and Consultant Clinical Practitioners roles are well known in acute medicine, such as A&E, they are relatively unknown for Allied Healthcare Professionals in the community setting where they can optimise productivity and efficiency while maintaining the focus on improving patient care.
To meet this challenge, the team designed a framework for AHPs and Nurses, focusing on workforce transformation, development, governance and supervision, mapping Solent’s existing workforce who are already delivering at this level and creating new roles in areas where patients require staff with advancing skills.
The announcement of the CAHPO Awards winner will take place on the 12 October 2023.