Jessica, Emily, Michelle, Anita, Claire and Emma with their improvement work

Earlier this month, six of our Allied Health Professional (AHP) colleagues graduated from the latest West Yorkshire AHP Clinical Fellowship.

Community Therapy Service Manager, Hannah Wood, said: "CHFT had six fellows on this year-long programme – the most representatives from any trust. The projects completed are fantastic in supporting patient care, service delivery and the work carried out is valuable both in the areas where they work, but also to adopt across wider areas too and not just for AHP services. We are really proud of all our fellows for the work they have done and wanted to share our congratulations."

Our fellows are: Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist Anita Devine, Specialist Physiotherapist Emma Smith, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist Claire Kenny, Children’s Occupational Therapist Emily Watkins, Ageing Well Practitioner Michelle Sykes, and former OT Clinical Educator, Jessica Loxam.

We asked our super six to share more on their experience of the fellowship:

What was your fellowship in?

  • Anita: Fatigue management within the community division of CHFT.
  • Emma: To standardise the induction process for student AHPs.
  • Michelle: To upskill social prescribing link workers (SPLWs) in North Halifax primary care network to carry out ageing well assessments. 
  • Claire: Explore the impact of embedding a dedicated Occupational Therapist within the CRH Emergency Department.
  • Emily: Supporting Schools to Self-Manage: Reducing referrals for universal and targeted support.
  • Jessica: Scoping out what AHPs felt they needed post-preceptorship to continue to thrive at work.

Why did you apply to join the programme?

  • Michelle: I applied because opportunities to carry out such a course over a year are very few and far between. I also liked the idea of monthly supervision provided by an external source and also developing a wider network of AHPs.
  • Emily: I was keen to develop my leadership skills with my work role, having been a Scout leader for the last 12 years. I aspire to develop my career to include both clinical practice and research, this fellowship was a good opportunity to start on that journey with a quality improvement project.

Have you been able to implement change as a result of being part of the programme, or is anything in the pipeline?

  • Anita: Plans are underway to reformat fatigue management information and resources to make it more accessible and available to CHFT colleagues who are supporting people experiencing fatigue.
  • Emma: I have implemented a change in the student induction process, helping them start their placement on a positive note, also providing them with information prior to their placement. 
  • Michelle: The project has been a huge success and is fully implemented.  The work was further developed as I now provide clinical supervision of the SPLWs.  
  • Claire: The pilot delivered outstanding results, with 45 out of 50 referrals resulting in admission avoidance. Building on this, funding has been secured to extend the pilot for a further 12 months with two specialist occupational therapists and two assistant practitioners.
  • Emily: The pilot was a great success and plans are now being made to deliver this training across all Kirklees and Calderdale primary schools.
  • Jessica: Recommendations have been made for early careers peer support groups and enhanced professional supervision, with links to potential up-skilling of supervisors through the Professional Advocacy role.

What advice or information would you give to others who may consider applying?                                                                                                                                       

  • Anita: It provided a safe space to challenge and debate healthcare systems and dedicated time for deep thinking, learning and time to concentrate on a QI project.
  • Emma: I would advise to others to take the chance on the fellowship. It sounds daunting to begin with, but I am more understanding of myself as a clinician and a leader now. I have more confidence in my skills and am so glad I took this opportunity! 
  • Claire: I have developed a deeper understanding of collaborative leadership, service transformation and how to use evidence and data to drive meaningful, patient-centred improvements.
  • Emily: Don’t worry if you don’t have a solid project plan when stepping into the fellowship or you don’t feel you have the skills needed to navigate running a quality improvement project. We were also provided with training and resources to support the quality improvement cycle and  also had each other to ask and provide support.

Have you learned anything about yourself that has surprised you?

  • Anita: It strengthened my commitment to ensuring all patients receive fair, consistent, and high-quality care, regardless of factors such as their condition, gender, service accessed, or timing of care. Seeing variation and inequity in fatigue management has deepened my motivation to reduce disparities. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process and would highly recommend.
  • Emma: I’ve learned that I was a leader all along. This came as a shock as it did not feel my role was a leadership role, but how wrong I was! 
  • Michelle: What surprised me the most was that as chatterbox, I do have the skills to actively listen!!
  • Emily: I have more influence than I realised and I can use to affect positive action within the service. I’ve learnt that there is no one ‘right’ way to be a leader and that being my authentic self is the best way to engage and lead people.

Huge congratulations to them all.