26th January 2023

Funding to increase allied health professionals and access to community-based care

On the 24th January Health Minister Eluned Morgan announced £5m to increase the number of allied health professionals (AHPs) and increase access to community-based care to help people remain active and independent.

Available from April 2023, the funding will increase the number of community-based AHPs and support workers in the NHS. They will help people stay independent and well at home, helping to prevent hospital admissions and they will also help people to be quickly discharged from hospital with the right support and rehabilitation in place to recover at home.

Allied health professions is a group of 13 professions, which include physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians and psychologists. Based in local community health teams, they provide preventative and early intervention services, alternatives to hospital admission and reduce the need for long-term social care.

Supporting people to recover at home with rehabilitation or spend less time in a hospital bed can have a considerable benefit on a people’s wellbeing, improve health outcomes and speed up recovery.

Examples of how AHPs can help people receive care and rehabilitation in the community include:

• The creation of virtual wards, which allow patients to receive the treatment they need at home safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital, or expand the existing community resource teams which give GPs and paramedics alternatives to emergency departments.
• Treat people who have suffered a fall at home, if they do not need to go to hospital, and provide a programme of care and advice to reduce the likelihood of a further fall and rebuild their confidence and strength.
• Provide effective interventions to help people newly diagnosed with dementia to continue to live at home, support family carers and reduce the rate at which they may deteriorate.

Find out more here.