Promoting Innovation And Leadership In The Allied Health Professions (AHPs)

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 24 Jun 2009 - 7:00 PDT

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The Allied Health Professions Leadership Challenge winners are East Midlands SHA, The Department of Health announced today.

The AHP Leadership Challenges were designed around the commitments set out in High Quality Care for All to support leadership, at every level of the NHS and give AHPs the confidence to lead on innovation across health and social care.

The challenges took place across England throughout April and May and the best performing team in each of the ten regions competed in the national final at the London Royal Horseguards Hotel, on 16-17 June.

Chief Health Professions Officer, Karen Middleton said:

"The Leadership Challenge events surpassed the two main aims I had for them. "The first was to raise the profile of leadership at SHA level and the second was to give AHPs some experiential learning so that they can start to feel more empowered and confident as leaders.

"Good leaders enhance other people's performance and that's what AHPs do every day at a clinical level.

"As a result of these events, AHPs have told me that they have already started instigating changes where they work."

East Midlands, winning team

Mark Baker, Lincolnshire Community Health Service, Physiotherapist said:

"The challenge events have bought out skills most of us didn't realise we had, and we can now re-evaluate our career paths to maximise those strengths."

Rachel Clifton, United Lincolnshire NHS Trust, Physiotherapist, Respiratory Care said: "Every member of our team put in so much effort, but we're no different from other AHPs out there - if we can win a leadership challenge, so can they."

The event was also attended by NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson and , Director General of Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships, David Behan.

Source
Department of Health, UK