The wide-range of work carried out by hundreds of committed Oxford Health professionals will be highlighted on Wednesday, October 14, as part of a national day of celebration – and colleagues are being invited to join in on social media.

Allied Health Profession (AHP) Day is an annual event to show appreciation and raise awareness for the work done by those professionals who make up the second largest UK healthcare workforce and the life-changing impacts they have on patient care and health.

There are 14 different disciplines in the AHP family and Oxford Health has eight of them embedded in its mental and community health settings across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset.

These include  podiatrists, dieticians, occupational therapists, paramedics, physiotherapists, art therapists, music therapists and, last but by no means least, speech and language therapists. Since January AHPs in Oxford Health have completed more than 65,000 face-to-face appointments with patients and the services have also responded admirably to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Find out what Rebecca Oxford Health’s Associate Director of Allied Health Professions in Mental Health and Trust Professional Lead Occupational Therapist, has to say about AHPs in this video.

Work of AHPs goes social

Oxford Health will be tweeting throughout the day on @OxfordhealthNHS and by following them and seeking out the hashtag #AHPsDay you’ll be able find out more about the world of AHPs locally and throughout the UK.

You will see some of our staff telling their own AHP stories including Oxford Health speech and language therapy student Briony who has made a special video for the day.

All of Oxford Health’s AHP services are delivering top quality and vital help to patients under strict COVID-19 secure conditions. Some that you will hear from on the day are operating almost on a business-as-usual basis while others will show how they have changed how they operate to keep the show on the road.

Emma Croft, Allied Health Professions lead for forensic services, said:

“The commitment of AHPs to keep on supporting people and enhancing their lives under such trying circumstances is to be applauded. They have worked innovatively and responsively to ensure the needs of our communities are met.

“There is so much talent in the services that we provide and Allied Health Professionals are pivotal in enabling recovery and enhancing the lives of so many people.

“We want to make sure, through this special day, that all our AHPs get some time in the spotlight and awareness of the work they do is raised.”