The NHS is not just about doctors and nurses…
Allied Health Professionals have been urged to support the Five Year Forward View.
The call came from Sir Malcolm Grant, NHS England’s Chairman, as he opened the first Chief Allied Health Professions Officer’s Conference.
Sir Malcolm told delegates who met at The Oval cricket ground in London: “I beg you to help deliver the Five Year Forward View and break down the barriers to caring for people in the future.”
Sir Malcolm added: “How can we cope with the extra demand of a growing and ageing population? This is our biggest challenge. The old models of care are not working, that’s why we need to bring all our Allied Health Professionals to work together.
“People do not just trust the NHS brand but also us as people to give the highest quality care.”
Sir Malcolm described the publication of the Five Year Forward View last October as “a seminal moment” adding: “It’s not a Government document. It is NHS England working with other arm’s length bodies. It’s a team. And the Five Year Forward View is not a vision. It’s a view. The NHS has already had more visions than the Joan of Arc and more pilots than British Airways.”
He said one focus of the Five Year Forward View was to tackle the funding gap, explaining: “The extra investment needed every year exceeds inflation. We have suggested the funding gap will be £30billion. So we have set out our idea for new models of care and set up 29 Vanguards covering more than five million people. It’s not a pilot, as it’s not reversible.”
Suzanne Rastrick, NHS England’s Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, said: “I want to see change for all of us and for the people we serve.”
She announced that she would be working with Jane Cummings, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, on the safe staffing levels project which would also cover the Allied Health Professions.
She also announced that two Clinical Fellows – which she described as “usually the preserve of medical colleagues” – would be working with her in roles within the Allied Health Professons.
Having introduced a series of short video clips of four different AHPs explaining their work, Suzanne Rastrick added: “That gives you a small sense of the breadth of services we provide. It’s not just about doctors and nurses.”
Her last announcement was of the push to use social media within the Allied Health Professions using a new @WeAHPs twitter handle.
This will be used to help drive innovation and promote best practice, as well as raising the profile of AHPs.
One comment
If its not just about Doctors & Nurses, how come a secondary care provider has changed the rules only last week to take MRI, Ultrasound & DXA scan referrals from GP.s ONLY.
Prior to that referrals were accepted from AHP.s/ANP.s but this is no longer acceptable – a unilateral decision which shows the lack of joined up thinking in the NHS (especially true given the NICE guideline changes announced today!)
Now for a battle to get this changed – fortunately the commissioners appear to be on the side of common sense; but this may still take months/years to rectify!