Allied Health Professions Career Framework

The AHP Career framework tools are a collection of resources that clinicians and support staff, service managers and commissioners can all use to develop a flexible and responsive workforce that starts with the needs of the patient. It has been developed by Skills for Health in partnership with the Allied Health

Professions in all four countries of the UK. The resources that have been developed are:

• A web based framework of competences that can be used in a number of ways e.g. Personal development planning
• A web based resource of AHP and support worker roles already mapped to the Career Framework for use in workforce planning
• A web based tool so that both individuals and organisations can look at career opportunities and plan their progression so that both will benefit
• Web based planning tool, e.g.Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF)
  
  

IMPORTANT NOTE: To protect patient safety, commissioners should ensure that any service planning based on these tools is informed by the appropriate clinical governance/professional advice regarding its implications.

Why do we need a Competence based Career Framework for AHPs?
The AHPs are a diverse group of professions, but they share a therapeutic focus on enabling patients to maximise their independence, at whatever stage of their life or disease. Unfortunately, the contribution of AHPs has not always been very visible, so this meant that their potential to deliver patient-centred services and transform health and social care has not always been maximised. There are many reasons to modernise the careers of AHPs and their support staff:

• Healthcare will need to be more responsive in the future to the demands put upon it because the pace of change is increasing
• More people will live with long-term conditions
• Public expectations of services are increasing
• There are likely to be new and different diseases that we have to deal with
• Technological and pharmaceutical advances will mean new treatments will be available.

What are the benefits of the AHP Career Framework?
Patients, AHP professionals, support staff, commissioners and service managers will all benefit from the AHP Career Framework as it aims to do the following:

• Improve the patient experience
• Increase opportunities for staff
• Ensure value for money

What can it do?
The Career Framework can help you in the following way:

• Plan your own career development and profile
• Plan the workforce you need in your development or organisation to deliver best patient services now and in the future.

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