Re-imagining advancing practice

As part of the workforce, education and training programme, which was funded by NHS England, we have been working with the Royal College of Occupational Therapy (RCOT), Coventry University and Salford University to look at how advanced practice could be reimagined to develop new opportunities for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) alongside existing models.

Workforce shortages and increasing need for health and care provisions have contributed towards health disparities across the UK. AHPs need the opportunity to train and develop to help build a sustainable workforce. Recognising the broader remit of advanced practice could help tackle these issues and create more opportunities for AHPs in the advanced space.

SLTs are already in advanced clinical practice roles, some of which may be more generalist and some more specialist. Both are valued and relevant within health and care delivery, however this project focused on reimagining speech and language therapists work at the advanced level through the lens of social justice and health equity. For example, by developing more opportunities in community settings, and using approaches not aligned with the typical medical model.

This project has contributed to a broader understanding of advanced level practice within speech and language therapy. A number of recommendations have been put forward across local and national research, policy practice and education to inform the workforce reform, professional development and models of care to address health equity.

You can read a summary of the re-imagining advancing practice project or access the full project report.

We are continuing conversations to take the project recommendations forward, including the possible development of a framework to support clinicians. We remain open-minded and are keen to hear your suggestions.