Allied health professionals
The term Allied Health Professions (AHPs) refers to 14 professions and each profession is regulated by The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
List of allied health professions
The 14 health professions are:
- art therapists
- diagnostic radiographers
- dietitians
- drama therapists
- music therapists
- occupational therapists
- orthoptists
- orthotists
- paramedics
- physiotherapists
- podiatrists
- prosthetists
- speech and language therapists
- therapeutic radiographers
What allied health professionals do
AHPs help people live healthy, active and independent lives. They work in early intervention, prevention and wellbeing.
They assess, diagnose, treat and support people with physical and mental health needs.
AHPs are the third largest workforce in NHS Scotland. They work across all sectors and with people of all ages.
Chief Allied Health Professions Officer
The Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO) oversees the strategic direction for all AHP services in Scotland. The CAHPO advises ministers and the government on matters, including:
- education and training
- workforce planning
- regulation
- service development
The AHP and Healthcare Science, Strategy and Policy Team support the CAHPO. They work with other teams including the:
- Chief Nursing Officer Directorate (CNOD) Education Team
- Cancer and Rehabilitation Team
- Long Term Conditions Team
- Primary Care Team
- Health Workforce Team
Allied Health Professions frameworks
In January 2025, an updated Allied Health Professions UK Public Health Strategic Framework was published. This shows progress and provides updates on the original framework published in 2019 and sets out priorities for the next five years to support AHPs in their roles. An accompanying Impact Report outlined actions taken and results achieved across the five key goals set.
We published our own implementation plan in 2022, which supports AHPs and partners to develop their public health role in line with Scotland's public health priorities.
Education and workforce policy review
The Programme for Government 2021 committed to reviewing AHP education and was also later extended to include workforce policy. The National AHP Strategic Oversight Group led the work to ensure collaboration across the AHP education and workforce sector.
We completed the AHP Education and Workforce Policy Review with high level recommendations in November 2022 and we published them in February 2023.
An advisory board with representatives from a broad range of partners is overseeing the effective implementation of the review recommendations. The group is chaired by Professor Carolyn McDonald, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, who will report progress to the Chief Nursing Officer and Scottish Ministers as required.
Rehabilitation
AHPs play a key role in rehabilitation. They deliver early intervention, prevention and person-centred support that aligns with Scotland's strategic ambitions. Rehabilitation includes a wide range of interventions, approaches and information. These support recovery from, and prevention of, long-term health conditions, including long covid.
Their contribution supports the updated AHP strategic framework 2025–2030 and the AHP public health implementation plan 2022–2027.
This work complements national approaches such as the Recovery and Rehabilitation Framework (2020) and the Once for Scotland Rehabilitation Approach (2022).