They are already often the first point of contact for patients, reducing waiting by providing one stop assessment and treatment, and helping people to recover and resume independent living more quickly. In future they will have a crucial role to play in driving forward the implementation of protocol based care, ensuring that patients are treated quickly by people with the right skills, rather than having to wait to be seen by someone with a particular professional background. Meeting the Challenge sets out how we want to see the role of the allied health professions developed and supported, building on real accounts of the work which they do. It is about ensuring that the work which these professions do is acknowledged, valued and supported and that innovative practice becomes the norm, to the benefit of patients. I look forward to working with the professions and the Allied Health Professions Forum to take forward this challenging agenda.
Effective leadership is critical to improving quality of care and supporting and developing staff.
We will ensure that leadership capacity and capability is strengthened and provide tailored support for staff who want to stay in the front line as well as those who seek to progress into executive roles. A parallel strategy for health care scientists, who have an equally important role to play, will be published in the New Year.