Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards 2024

The Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards 2024 took place on Thursday 10 October 2024

View our frequently asked questions for further information about the awards.

The winners on the evening were:

Creative Provision of Placements Award 2024 – awarded by the Council of Deans of Health

School of AHP Placements Team Lecturers and Senior Lecturers, Keele University

The overall aim was to decrease the number of traditional placements to enhance sustainability of placements and therefore maintain and grow student numbers. The team identified 6 stages of implementation for this project. The overall results included the following: no reduction in placement hours, significant reduction in placement demand, significant tariff income generation and profit, and a reduced number of multi-cohort placements. The team is pursuing the possibility of applying the placement principles to a new SLT course due to start 2024/25.

AHP Public Health Award 2024 – awarded by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities

South Tees Falls Team, Specialist Falls team consisting of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Support Workers, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Falls Strategy group was set up in 2019 across South Tees; a multi-agency group led by the Falls Team (physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, and support workers). Together, and facilitated by the Falls Team, a pathway was established to meet the agreed aim and ensure every older person had access to a falls assessment. Case studies were used to ensure we were considering the varied population of South Tees and how they access services; allowing us to apply national evidence to the local population and system. Key to the success of the pathway was a development of a digital resource “Steady on Your Feet”.

AHP Digital Practice Award 2024 – awarded by NHS England

Moffat Makomo, Paediatric Occupational Therapist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

The project leverages the engaging nature of Minecraft and Roblox, alongside apps like Pokémon Smile, Sensory Treat, Brainworks, Habitica, and GoNoodle, to create personalized, interactive therapeutic experiences for children with autism in Trafford. The focus was on children who were not accessing therapies and not engaging in activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, handwriting, and brushing teeth. Children who were previously reluctant to participate in traditional therapy are now enthusiastic and consistent. This increased engagement has led to improved adherence to therapeutic activities and better outcomes in sensory processing skills.

AHP Workforce Transformation Award 2024 – awarded by NHS England

Felicity Devereux, Hannah Tomkins & Wendy Hollands, Oxleas AHP Preceptorship Leads & MPFT AHP Professional Workforce Lead, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, MPFT University Partnership Foundation Trust

Preceptorship has shown it can sustain and retain a workforce by providing a foundation for their development. This joint nomination highlighted the successful partnership between the Oxleas AHP Preceptorship Programme and MPFT. The partnership between the two organisations encouraged shared learning and avoided duplication by purchasing a ready-made preceptorship programme. The data has shown that preceptees feel the programme has had active improvements on patient care by providing structured CPD opportunities.

AHP Innovation and Improvement within Integrated Care Systems Award 2024 – awarded by NHS England

Katherine South, Dietetic Assistant Practitioner, The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

The successful implementation of hydration projects in care homes with the highest admissions, led to funding from NHS England and the implementation of the Rotherham Care Homes Hydration Project in 2022. Katherine South (Dietetic Assistant Practitioner) was appointed to implement face-to-face (F2F) training and quickly became a driving force for the success of the project. The Rotherham Care Homes Hydration Project has trained over 1,000 staff leading to improved resident hydration and reduced burden on the NHS.

AHP Research Impact Award 2024 – awarded by the Council for Allied Health Professions Research and the National Institute for Health and Care Research

Lindsey Allan, Macmillan Oncology Dietitian, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

BOUNCED is the first study looking at the dietary management of bowel obstruction. It showed that a 4-step low fibre, modified-consistency diet can reduce symptoms and hospital admissions as well as improve quality of life in patients with advanced gynaecological and colorectal cancer. Publication of the BOUNCED results (submitted for publication) is eagerly anticipated since this study is the first step in providing evidence in this challenging area of dietetics and healthcare. Growing interest within the dietetic community has led to the establishment of a sub-group of the British Dietetic Association (BDA), which aims to provide solutions to caring for patients with malignant bowel obstruction (MBO).

Greener AHP Award 2024 – awarded by Greener NHS

Faith Toogood, Dietitian, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

A project started on critical care to initially recycle enteral feed bottles, but is now repurposing these bottles into domestic milk bottles. The mission is to recycle 100% of enteral feed and sterile water/saline bottles on critical care at RCHT by 2025. Since February 2024 nearly 1 tonne of plastic has been saved. There has also been the creation of web-based resources and pathways available to support national implementation alongside Industry Abbott and Biffa.

AHP Leadership for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion award 2024 – awarded by NHS Race and Health Observatory

Naman Julka-Anderson, Research Therapeutic Radiographer & AHP Clinical Advisor, The Royal Marsden and Macmillan Cancer Support

Naman has focused his work on the assessment of radiotherapy skin reactions and the education of radiographers who review patients daily.  To date, literature and clinical guidance around this has been based on skin reactions in patients with white skin tones, including the details given on patients’ radiotherapy consent forms, which had been inaccurate and discriminatory with patients of colour not receiving the correct information, and with a high risk of poorer recognition and management of these common skin reactions.  As part of Naman’s work he assessed baseline confidence levels in therapeutic radiographers when advising and managing skin reactions in patients with brown or black skin tones and found this was significantly lower than with white skin tones.

CAHPO Award 2024 – awarded by the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (England)

Naman Julka-Anderson, Research Therapeutic Radiographer & AHP Clinical Advisor, The Royal Marsden and Macmillan Cancer Support