Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) are a growing part of the NHS workforce, accounting for over £2bn of the salary bill, yet there is remarkably little data on the contribution they make to the quality of patient care, new research published by the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation reveals today.
In a comprehensive new report, published as part of the QualityWatch programme, researchers examine the role of AHPs – practitioners in the public, private and voluntary sector who deliver services including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and paramedic services.
The analysis finds that there has been a significant increase in the numbers of AHPs, with numbers of registered practitioners rising by 53% since 2002, and NHS-based practitioners rising by a third. This meant that by 2013, AHPs made up around 6% of the NHS workforce and accounted for an estimated £2bn of the NHS salary bill.
