Celebrating the impact of Allied Health Professionals on the lives of people in the Northern Trust area

Blog by Jill Bradley

Assistant Director, Allied Health Professions (AHPs), Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Let’s celebrate International AHPs Day! 

Friday 14 October is Allied Health Professions Day –  a unique opportunity to celebrate the skills of Allied Health Professionals who support the health and wellbeing of people living in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust area, from Newtownabbey to Ballycastle, Coleraine to Cookstown and everywhere in-between.

Allied Health Professionals work as part of multidisciplinary teams and with local partners; councils, schools, care homes, hospitals, voluntary agencies and many more to tackle health inequalities.

In the Northern Trust;

• Dietitians are addressing health inequalities of communities in Ballymena by running healthy eating courses and practical cooking sessions promoting cooking from scratch, healthy changes to diet and a reduction in take away foods Slow Cooking For Communities.
• Occupational Therapists in partnership with Ulster University are leading innovation in the treatment of upper limb impairments following stroke.
• Orthoptist clinics are supporting specialist assessment of visual problems, eye movement disorders, squints and double vision.
• Paramedic students are welcomed by AHPs and other professions in various settings across the Trust to complete practice based learning.
• First Contact Physiotherapists are working in local GP Practices to help people manage pain, disability and injury.
• Podiatry clinics are delivered locally in a large number of towns to meet the needs of local people including those with diabetes.
• Radiographers are providing diagnostic services and supporting flow through emergency departments.
• Speech and Language Therapists are working in partnership with nurses, dietitians and other professionals to develop and implement Food and Drink Safety Pause in care settings before meal times, to promote awareness of people at risk from eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.  This work has been up-scaled regionally.

These initiatives demonstrate the impact AHPs have on the health and wellbeing of people in our local area.  AHPs help people to manage complex health conditions, support return to school or work and live independently at home. They are leaders in public health and take a population level approach to address the care needs of people living in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.

So today, a big shout out to celebrate AHP Support Workers, Dietitians, Occupational Therapists, Orthoptists, Podiatrists, Physiotherapists, Radiographers, Speech and Language Therapists and Paramedics who work across the area.

Happy AHPs Day!

#AHPsDay  #WeAHPs

13th October 2022