Allied Health Professions Education and Workforce Policy Review: Advancing Practice Subgroup minutes: May 2022

Attendees and apologies

• Joan Pollard, Scottish Directors of Allied Health Professions (SDAHP)
• Anne Wallace, Scottish Government
• Alison Moore, Scottish Government
• Kim Lynch, Scottish Government
• Abby Campbell, Scottish Government
• Helen Gallagher, Glasgow Caledonian University
• Valerie Blair, NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
• Ruth Currie, Allied Health Professions Federation Scotland (AHPFS)
• Alison Keir, Allied Health Professions Federation Scotland (AHPFS)
• Gillian Macleod, Scottish Directors of AHPs (SDAHP)
• Sara Smith, Queen Margaret University
• David Wylie, NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
• Sara Conroy, Allied Health Professions Federation Scotland (AHPFS)

Apologies

• Lynn Morrison, Scottish Directors of AHPs (SDAHP)
• Mhairi Brandon, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Consultant AHP

Items and actions

Welcome from chair

Virtual introductions were made for all those attending. Members were asked to let secretariat know of anyone else who should be added to this group, including on an ad hoc basis. 

Action point:

• any other business is to be sent in advance of future meetings

 Terms of reference (TOR)

The Advancing Practice subgroup will take forward specific actions identified by the National Allied Health Professions (AHP) Strategic Oversight Group, specifically to explore issues around this theme. The outputs of this group will be used to form recommendations for the AHP Education and Workforce Policy Review.  

The review is to be completed with high level recommendations provided by mid November 2022, advice will be sent to the Cabinet Secretary for approval by the end November 2022 and an implementation plan will be published thereafter. It was noted that the recommendations put forward can be delivered after this. 

Terms of reference were considered and agreed by the group. AHP max was discussed and summarised as the concept that every profession has a maximum of what it can offer the system based on what it is able and allowed to do. AHP max looks at what working at this maximum looks like and the implications on workforce planning, career pathway and education planning. 

Drivers 

The group reviewed the primary drivers for advancing practice to be covered within this subgroup and concluded the following:

• the purpose of the subgroup is to develop a proposal for Scottish Government (SG) that creates policy context to allow work to be done to feedback into the AHP world
• the four drivers to be considered are education, in-board infrastructure, workforce and a career framework
• the aim agreed is to enable AHPs to deliver improved outcomes for the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s citizens by enabling AHPs to use all of their skills, at all levels, to progress careers and to work across agencies to transform health and care.  It was noted that a five year timeline to implement this would be recommended

Action point:

• SG to draft a driver diagram for the subgroup based on discussions

Presentation on Transforming Roles by NHS Education for Scotland (NES)

David Wylie, NES, presented the background to the work that is done at NES on Transforming Roles and the career framework. This work looks at how the career framework is defined, designed, developed and delivered. 

When considering how this fits with the work of this subgroup, the following was concluded:

• the work of the subgroup will sit between the design and development of the career framework
• defining AHP max may be more profession than service specific
• unless we define what data we need and work back from there, we won’t be able to say we need an amount more

Any other business

It was agreed that the subgroup will meet every four weeks, extending to every sex during the summer months. 

Action point:

• date of next meeting to be scheduled