The Community Healthcare Division is pioneering a level 5 Apprenticeship Programme for support staff within the Division, which will help create and enhance unregistered roles and support a career structure for our staff who are not registered nurses or AHPs.

The development of this cohort has been a collaboration across the Divisional teams led by Anthony Dawson – In Patient Therapy Team Leader and Pam Wood – Apprenticeship Lead for CHFT. Anthony explains more...

"The really exciting and impressive news is that 10 support staff from across the Division, have this month completed their first year of the programme which by the end of year 2, equates to a Diploma of Higher Education. The Level 5 Assistant Practitioner Programme replaces the Cert HE qualification which has been achieved by 9 previous cohorts of AHP staff.

"This year is the first time we have delivered the programme at Level 5/DipHE level and through the Apprenticeship scheme – our colleagues are true pioneers and are working hard to achieve a high level of academic study! Their academic work does not come to an end over the summer, as they are all working on individual research studies which are linked to their work setting and devised to impact and improve patient care and experience.

"On completing the programme, our colleagues will be fully qualified, Band 4, Assistant Practitioners, managing their own designated caseloads and bringing their knowledge and expertise to a variety of areas including in-patient Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy, out-patient Physiotherapy, Community Therapies and the Discharge Teams. Patients will have the benefit of receiving high quality, timely interventions from a staff group who will be academically and experientially qualified, can clinically reason, plan and deliver interventions – these staff are the AHP equivalent to our Nurse Associates.

"I am sure we all wish them luck as they enter their 2nd year of the programme and look forward to seeing their graduation this time next year!!!"

The 10 are:

Deborah Beaumont Lorimer – Support & Independence Team

Gareth Heathcote – Out Patient Physiotherapy

Kerry Brannan – Out Patient Physiotherapy

Kam Khehra – Discharge team

Caroline Jooty – Discharge Team

Lynne Laversick – In patient Therapies (Orthopaedics)

Holly Smith – In Patient Therapies (Medicine & Elderly)

Lorna Allen – In Patient Therapies (Medicine)

Jayne Bailey – In Patient Therapies  (Stroke Services)

Nicholas Stock – In Patient Therapies  (Stroke Services)