22 May 2009
New appointment at the Allied Health Professions Federation
The Allied Health Professions Federation (AHPF) has appointed Paul Hitchcock as its new director.
Paul will work with the board members to develop the AHPF’s strategy and promote the AHPF’s policy recommendations to senior civil servants and government ministers.
He will also be the AHPF’s first point of contact with the media and other organisations.
Speaking of the challenges ahead, Paul says it is important for the allied health professions to have a strong, common voice when engaging through the AHPF with decision makers.
His role will be to build a platform for the professional organisations to work together more effectively and to boost their influence by talking directly to decision makers.
“We are about getting the voice of the professions heard. My job is to open a door and get the right people around the table,” he adds.
Paul has established a track-record with allied health professions, having worked on strategy and policy development with the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists and the College of Occupational Therapists.
Notes for Editors
1. The Allied Health Professions Federation represents the following 12 member organisations. Each of these professions provides treatments that transform people’s lives. For more information, visit www.ahpf.org.uk
- British Association of Art Therapists
- Association of Professional Music Therapists
- British Association of Dramatherapists
- British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists
- British Dietetic Association
- British and Irish Orthoptic Society
- British Association/College of Occupational Therapists
- British Association/College of Paramedics
- Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
- Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
- Society and College of Radiographers
- Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
2. All allied health professionals have four common attributes:
- They are, in the main, first-contact practitioners.
- They perform essential diagnostic and therapeutic roles.
- They work across a wide range of locations and sectors within acute, primary and community care.
- They perform functions of assessment, diagnosis, treatment and discharge throughout the care pathway – from primary prevention through to specialist disease management and rehabilitation.
3. Paul Hitchcock, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Manchester University, began his career in the pharmaceutical industry and held a variety of senior sales positions during his six-year stint with Smith Kline and French (now GlaxoSmithKline).
4. He then worked as an independent management training consultant for 11 years before starting his consultancy firm in 2000. Working in both the private and public sectors, he has worked on a variety of projects with NHS trusts across the UK, including NHS Scotland. Most recently, projects have been around developing partnership working between staff side unions and employers, a speciality Paul developed when director of the TUC Partnership Institute
5. He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
To arrange an interview contact Paul Hitchcock, Director of the AHPF, mobile: 07545 208104
For more information, contact RCSLT Communications Manager Steven Harulow, tel: 020 7378 3004.