An exciting new strategy for the Allied Health Professions

Reflection

InSight – Winter 2022

Venus Madden

Art therapists are included within the 14 Allied Health Professions (AHPs). Venus Madden, the current Clinical Fellow to Suzanne Rastrick, the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (England), tells us about AHP’s Deliver, an exciting new strategy.

How did this new AHP strategy come about?

Our first AHP strategy, AHPs into Action, was published in 2016. Since then, things have changed quite significantly and rapidly: the way we work, the changing population needs, and the health inequality issues that were further highlighted during the pandemic, to name a few!

We also had the NHS Long Term Plan and People Plan published in recent years, which emphasise the importance of gathering evidence and working with the system to realise the potential of the AHP workforce.

We serve a diverse population which bring unique challenges. In order to address these challenges effectively we need the decision-making table to represent the community it services.
Anon, June 2021. Quote: contributed to online conversation three

The new strategy, AHPs Deliver, builds on its predecessor, accentuating the impact AHPs have on delivering excellence in health and care. It has been developed to provide strategic direction to the AHP community across England and to help the AHP community and those they work with maximise their contribution, in turn improving health outcomes for all, providing better quality care, and improving sustainability of health and care services.

To stop recycling racial inequity and hence health inequality the workforce has to widen its knowledge and evidence gathering further than the global north. We need to do this because the western centric ideas have done little to change the experiences of BME, LGBTQIA+, disabled and gypsy/traveller/Roma population’s health and social determinants outcomes.
Anon, June 2021. Quote: contributed to online conversation three.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank our art therapy colleagues for their support and input during the strategy development stage. The strategy took a crowdsourcing approach, and we had 21,000 contributions in the end, including feedback and comments from our people, carers and AHP colleagues.

We were grateful that the British Association of Art Therapists encouraged their members to represent their professional group and give us their voices. We managed to gain the wisdom of the crowd through rich and deep insight, allowing the beneficiaries of this strategy, people and the AHP workforce, to shape our new priority areas.

What is AHPs Deliver?

This new strategy is for the whole AHP community, unregistered and registered colleagues, as well as students. It is inclusive and reflects how AHPs work in multidisciplinary teams, so that those who identify as part of the AHP community, working in a variety of health and care sectors, can use it to continually improve and redesign services.

I am aware that many of our art therapy colleagues work in settings outside the NHS settings. So, it is important to note that the strategy was written for all AHPs who work with and/or alongside anyone who is an NHS patient in any setting, rather than solely within NHS services.

The strategy is underpinned by an implementation framework that adopts an appreciative inquiry approach. This approach supports individuals, providers, systems and regions to map where they are at present, where they need to focus their activities during the term of this strategy, and how improvement will be measured and celebrated.

In the strategy, we AHPs are committed to five areas of focus identified in its co-production:

People first
Optimising care
Social justice: addressing health and care inequalities
Environmental sustainability
Strengthening and promoting the AHP community

Why is the new AHP strategy important?

The strategy is a great vehicle for us to rethink and reflect on what and how we deliver our care, thereafter, making sustainable influence.

This is a visionary project. The way you are ensuring a wide range of people and community voices are captured is to be applauded. Thank you AHPs.
Anon, March 2021. Quote: Older People's Sounding Board Focus Group

As stated by our Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, Suzanne, ‘This strategy is a catalyst for change. Wherever you work, every member of our AHP community has a part in realising our collective ambitions through its delivery’.

The strategy is not only for our AHP Community, but also the people, carers and communities we work with. Together, we can support the public to utilise AHPs to transform health, care and wellbeing.

I urge everyone to read the strategy and discuss it with your peers, supervisors and chief AHP leads, considering: ‘What does this strategy mean to me and my practice?’

Thank you for including us from the start of this work. Often, we are an afterthought despite being considered underrepresented communities.
Anon, July 2021. Quote: underrepresented communities' workshop

Why is the strategy relevant for art therapists?

The people and communities we work with have a wide range of needs. Not everyone can or wishes to express themselves using words or to communicate verbally. This could be due to their conditions, culture, personal experience, or upbringing. Art therapists have the unique skills and approach to use different creative mediums to give those individuals a ‘voice’ to articulate how they have been affected and support their wellbeing accordingly. I’ve had the privilege of observing how art therapy transforms individuals’ lives within forensic, mental health settings and community settings. The way art therapists can interact with some of the most ‘difficult to reach’ people is amazing!

The AHPs Deliver Strategy is about working with people and communities with diverse backgrounds, increasing their access to meaningful interventions, and putting their needs first. The nature of art therapy supports more equitable access to services, especially for those who struggle to access talking therapies, and can engage and empower communities creatively. The work of art therapists naturally aligns with the five focus areas of the AHP strategy.

Suzanne describes art therapists as one of the ‘smaller but exquisite’ AHP groups. Collectively as an AHP community, we can demonstrate impactful and meaningful changes that we lead and facilitate for our populations.