Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, November 3, 2022

Official Report 1151KB pdf

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Allied Health Professions Day 2022

The final item of business is a members’ business debate, in the name of Carol Mochan, on allied health professions day 2022—helping people live their best lives. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament notes that Allied Health Professions Day 2022 will be marked on 14 October; recognises what it sees as the important contribution that Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) make to the provision of health and social care in Scotland; understands that AHPs make up the third largest workforce in the NHS; commends these health professionals for their dedication at all times but particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic; understands that AHPs play an integral role in prehabilitation, early intervention, prevention and rehabilitation strategies to meet the needs of the South Scotland and wider Scottish population, and notes the view that further resource for AHPs is needed to fulfil their potential and meet the need for collaboration and diversity of skills in health and social care.

17:13  

It is an honour to have secured the debate. Members will know that it was moved—it was supposed to be held on an evening when we were instead in the chamber voting. I believe that the allied health professionals who are with us—there were many more on that previous evening—had a successful event in the Parliament. They tell me that it was networking, but I have heard that a bit of a party went on as well. However, it is lovely to see them in the chamber.

The debate presents an opportunity to celebrate the work of allied health professions in Scotland, recognise their contribution and highlight the challenges and difficulties that they face as the third-largest workforce in Scotland’s health service. I say hello not only to the people in the gallery but to those who are watching on Scottish Parliament television. Many of them were not able to come through for a second time, but I am assured that a number of AHPs are watching us. Those in the gallery have come, I am sure, not just to hear words and soundbites about how much they are valued but to go away knowing that the Parliament and the Government will take action to show how much they are valued.

AHPs are a diverse group of 14 professions, and I ask members to visit them whenever they can. Allied health professions day was on October 14, so we have missed the date, but there are still opportunities for members to visit AHPs around their constituencies and regions and I am sure that they will be welcome.

I also thank members from every party in the Parliament who supported the motion, which allows us to debate it. That support further highlights the recognition that AHPs deserve and confirms that there is an interest in the Parliament in debating the ways in which AHPs have improved the lives of, and provide support to, people in the community. On behalf of Scottish Labour, I thank our allied health professionals for the work that they do every day across the health and social care service and networks. I hope that they realise that we are pleased to have them with us today.

Allied health professions day is about helping people live their best lives. Like other health service workers, AHPs continued their work throughout the pandemic because, although buildings were closed and, in some ways, lives were put on hold, the difficulties facing many of the Scottish population remained and it was incumbent on AHPs and other health professionals to continue to deliver services against the backdrop of a pandemic that was taking lives in every community. We thank them for that continued work through those difficult times. They deserve huge credit and I am pleased to be able to put that on the record in the Parliament.

Some members in the chamber know that I started my working life with a career in dietetics, which is one of the allied health professions. It is not an exaggeration to say that it set me up for a life in politics like no other career would have done. I did the job for nearly 20 years and met many lifelong friends, patients and service users who shaped my life and belief system.

My friend Michelle was at the event in the Parliament. She is not in the gallery today but I know that she is watching. We met in the matriculation queue at Queen’s College, Glasgow. I am absolutely sure that she does not want me to divulge how many years ago that was.

Go on! [Laughter.]

At that time, the professions were in different areas depending on whether you were a physiotherapist, dietician or occupational therapist—those are some of the many allied health professions. Students were well supported—I know some of the students who are coming through, and it seems that they still are—and we were always thankful for the support from the colleges that trained the professions.

Throughout my career, I met patients who needed assessment and treatment. They showed me kindness and strength of character when, often, they faced life-changing illnesses. I describe it as the best job ever because I was lucky enough to go into a field that was about society’s role in maximising the best life possible.

In my job with learning disability services, we worked across communities, as many AHPs do. That nicely leads me to discuss some of the diverse services that AHPs provide and the overall aim of that work.

The umbrella term “wellbeing” can have many meanings depending on who we speak to and what wellbeing means to us. For AHPs, wellbeing is, as mentioned in the debate title, helping people live their best lives ever. Everyone will have a different view of what their best life is, with different end goals, targets and means of reaching those targets, but the first-class assessments, treatments, specialised groups and community work of AHPs in Scotland help them to get there. When members visit local AHP services, they will be greatly impressed with the diverse work and working styles of that group of healthcare professionals.

My long-standing view is that health provision delivers best when it is local and on the doorstep of the people who are most in need, and when services go to people rather than waiting on people coming to them. In a world of digital communication and over-the-phone appointments, it is important that we maintain strong connections with our communities. Using the expertise and work of our AHPs allows services to do just that.

As mentioned in the motion, prehabilitation, early intervention, prevention and rehabilitation are four key areas in which allied health professions play a significant role in the development of strategy and the delivery of services to meet the needs of all Scotland’s population. In local health centres and community hubs, schools and local third sector organisations and beyond, allied health professionals need resources to provide that service and allow people to live the best life possible.

In towns and communities that we know are suffering due to the impacts of the cost of living crisis, that have been impacted by the austerity agenda from the Tories at Westminster and, as we cannot forget, where there are impacts of cuts to local councils and services, the work of AHPs is most impactful.

Although we have come to the chamber to commend the work of our AHPs and the contribution that they make to health and social care provision as the third-largest workforce in our health service, I cannot make my remarks in good conscience without calling out the actions of the Governments here and at Westminster. I know that the Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport would expect no less of me.

Early intervention is key across many services. It is key in speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and beyond, where there have been significant failings at a national Government level, putting considerable pressure on the ability of AHPs to deliver those vital services. Therefore, it is important that we hear from the minister how the Scottish Government will deliver clear plans for supporting AHPs in the workforce, focusing on prehabilitation, early intervention, prevention and rehabilitation.

AHPs are in the gallery not just for warm words but to hear clear plans for action on investment.

You need to wind up, Ms Mochan.

No problem at all, Presiding Officer.

It is right that we thank AHPs again. I also thank members for joining me in the debate.

17:21  

I congratulate the member on securing the debate, which focuses on the people whom one might term the unsung of the health service. Indeed, I suspect that, if members were to mention to someone at the bus stop that they were speaking in a debate applauding the contribution of allied health professionals, many would find that that person did not know who they were talking about. However, the term covers a vital range of professionals that most of us have dealings with over the years.

The allied health professions cover a wide range of expertise. For example, they include art, drama and music therapists. Those therapies help mental and physical wellbeing. There are also the more well-known AHPs: physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. The allied health professions also include therapeutic and diagnostic radiographers, podiatrists and paramedics. That list is not exhaustive. Their professionalism extends beyond medical interventions and often includes tender loving care, good words, kindness and listening to the anxieties of their patients.

AHPs are essential to the wellbeing of my constituents and, indeed, to my own wellbeing. I have had to use the professional services of a physio on more than one occasion and can tell members that I am thankful for that. Similarly, I saw a podiatrist who was taking referrals during Covid. I have decided since then to take much better care of my feet. They are more important to me than I ever knew.

The intervention of those health professionals cured me of pain and increased my mobility, as such intervention does for many others. That, of course, has a big impact on general health and mental wellbeing. Therefore, it also saves pressure on our general practitioners, the national health service and our hospitals. There is no doubt that, as the population ages—and I know what I am talking about—we will need more therapists, particularly physios.

I turn to the work of paramedics in our ambulance service. They provide specialist care and treatment to patients who have been involved in accidents, emergencies and other crises. They need to be able to make swift decisions, stay calm and calm their patients. They often arrive before a GP and ensure that patients are stabilised and en route to hospital without delay. I will give two examples.

A few years back, I was out with the Borders police on patrol in the wee small hours over Saturday night into Sunday morning. We received a call-out and blue-lighted to a Borders town where a poor woman had thrown herself from a bridge into the river below. The river was low, so she fell on to rocks. I watched the police, fire and rescue and paramedics in synchronised action without a word having to be exchanged. Each played their part in the rescue. The police had sealed off the road and fire and rescue had lowered equipment to river level to raise her up. Paramedics were already there. They had descended, wrapped the woman in foil and placed her on a stretcher.

The second event was when, in the course of my profession as a solicitor, I had the tragic case of a woman who tried to cross a railway line. She nearly managed to haul herself on to the platform, but fell back and was hit by a train, trapping her underneath. The driver was about to move the train, but was stopped by the paramedics, as the wheels were acting as a tourniquet on her legs, and moving the train would have made her bleed to death. The paramedics crawled underneath the train, covered in hot engine oil. They comforted her and took early medical interventions, which saved her life.

Not all call-outs are so awful, but many involve road traffic accidents. Like the other services in attendance that I have mentioned, the police and fire and rescue might need cutting equipment. They face sights that must and do impact on them.

In conclusion, I thank Carol Mochan for bringing forward this debate, and I thank all who work as allied health professionals. I hope that everyone who is listening to this now realises exactly what allied health professionals are.

17:26  

I thank Carol Mochan for securing parliamentary time to mark allied health professions day 2022 after the debate was delayed last month. It is great to see people in the gallery today. I hope that my colleague Ms Mochan will get them hot cups of tea for braving the weather to get here.

This is an opportunity for MSPs to not just thank allied health professionals for the work that they do and their commitment, compassion and dedication during the pandemic but to reflect on the contribution that AHPs can make to the delivery of healthcare and public health more generally.

AHPs make up the third-largest workforce in NHS Scotland—it employs just under 13,000 AHPs. Their impact on their patients’ health and wellbeing cannot be overstated. A multidisciplinary team that spans a range of allied professions can have a huge bearing on the quality of life of the new mother who needs postnatal physiotherapy following the birth of her baby, the victim of a car accident who needs a prosthetic leg and lifelong care, the young child who is struggling to talk and would benefit from the intervention of a speech therapist, and the sufferers of neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

As a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, I feel qualified to say that there are, unfortunately, high vacancy rates in the allied health professions. The vacancy rate has almost doubled in the space of four years, from 4.4 per cent in March 2018 to 8.2 per cent in March 2022. The number of vacant AHP posts has increased by 43 per cent in a single year. The new mother who needs a physiotherapist to help her postpartum recovery has to wait weeks to be seen.

In NHS Grampian, the wait for routine pelvic dysfunction physiotherapy is around 24 weeks. Many women seek private treatment because NHS waiting lists are simply too long. As we seek to address the gender-related health gap, that risks further entrenching inequalities.

I have challenged the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care many times on the Scottish National Party’s plans for NHS recruitment and retention. NHS workforce planning is a massive issue that the SNP has managed to get spectacularly wrong.

We know that the coming months are expected to be extremely challenging for Scotland’s NHS. The Scottish Conservatives believe that we would utilise AHPs to their maximum potential in workforce planning. The diverse skills and expertise of the allied health professions can add a huge amount of value to primary and secondary care, but we need to ensure that supply is commensurate with demand and that the NHS is able to keep the AHPs who come through the pipeline.

Against the background of potential strike action by NHS staff over the coming months, it is especially important to understand the pressure that they are working under. They are tired and overstretched, and their voices must be heard.

17:29  

I thank Carol Mochan for bringing the debate to mark allied health professions day to the chamber. It is, sadly, slightly delayed but nonetheless highlights the vital role that our allied health professionals play in health, social care, education and the voluntary sector, their tireless commitment during the Covid-19 pandemic and the positive impact that they have on peoples’ lives—I think of my experience of the compassionate response of occupational therapists to my elderly father after he fell through a glass door and ended up completely losing his confidence, and I remember the radiographers who x-rayed my son’s broken arm, on three occasions, at the Royal Aberdeen children’s hospital and the physiotherapists who patiently supported my brother-in-law as he learned to walk again after a life-threatening stroke.

We know that people are emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic with increasingly complex health needs. The rehabilitation framework and the once-for-Scotland approach recognise the demand that is associated with pre-existing long-term health conditions and the needs of people living with those long-term effects of Covid-19. It is also important to acknowledge other pressures such as staffing and recruitment challenges, our ageing population, climate change and, of course, the health inequalities that were starkly brought into focus by the recent University of Glasgow report linking austerity measures with excess deaths in Great Britain. However, today is about recognition and appreciation of the contribution that is made by a skilled, experienced and committed allied healthcare workforce.

I welcome the additional funding for psychological therapies and interventions, the launch of the national conversation to improve support for people with dementia and their carers and this week’s announcement of £37 million of Scottish Government funding over the next four years to help future-proof our NHS against rising demand.

There is no doubt that we are experiencing radical changes in the delivery of healthcare, which mean that the knowledge and skills that are required by allied health professionals have changed, too. I will cite an example of a small-scale but innovative approach that supports students in their practice-based learning.

The school of health sciences at Robert Gordon University has been leading a contemporary, community-based education opportunity that brings tangible benefit to older people in the most deprived areas in my constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. The Thursday physio drop-in is a weekly, student led physiotherapy clinic, comprising an over-55s exercise class along with advice on mobility, posture and strength, all followed by a cup of tea in a familiar setting within walking distance of people’s homes.

Building on that, a new student-led law clinic, recently launched in a busy GP practice in my constituency, will offer law students the opportunity to gain experience through providing free legal advice to people on low incomes. Barriers to health and wellbeing are complex: housing, finance and negotiating consumer rights are all barriers to the basic requirements of a healthy life—our best life. A first in Scotland, the community law clinic connects justice and allied healthcare to tackle the root causes of issues that contribute to poor mental and physical health, which is particularly relevant during the on-going cost of living crisis. I commend Hannah Moneagle from Robert Gordon University, Dr Adrian Crofton, lead clinician at the Torry medical practice, and all those involved in establishing that truly multidisciplinary project.

I commend all our allied health professionals for their commitment and resilience and for their contribution to making life better for us all, and again thank Carol Mochan for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

17:34  

I thank my colleague Carol Mochan for lodging the motion to celebrate allied health professions day 2022, and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. Carol normally replies to members’ business debates for our health team, so I am delighted that she is leading one such debate today.

Allied health professionals include people from 14 different professions. Christine Grahame outlined almost all of them, including physiotherapists, radiographers, podiatrists and dieticians, all of whom help us to live better and healthier lives. The work that they do ensures that our approach to health and social care is holistic and based on prevention.

In many of our areas, there are also community link workers, who work with physiotherapists in the main and help people to improve their social, emotional and physical wellbeing through prescribing a daily practice of exercise to develop a healthier lifestyle. However, those key posts at community level might now be under threat, because the Government has just stripped £65 million out of the primary care improvement fund, some of which paid for those posts. It would be helpful if the minister would clarify in closing that there are no plans in place for those much-needed additional staff to be cancelled as a result.

In our hospitals, for those who are unfortunate enough to have succumbed to ill health or to have suffered an accident, it is the allied health professionals working in radiology who perform the scan to help to diagnose the disease or injury. It is the allied health professionals who work in prosthetics who do life-changing work in developing and providing artificial limbs to patients who previously thought that they would not be able to walk again. For people suffering with daily pain or discomfort in their feet from conditions such as arthritis, it is the allied health professionals working in orthotic services who can help people to improve their quality of life.

In every aspect of our health and social care system, allied health professionals are central to its delivery. However, there are record numbers of vacancies in our NHS, with profound consequences for patient care and safety. More than 1,150 of them are in allied heath roles. Concerns have been raised around the number of physiotherapists in Scotland, and physiotherapy is the area with the largest number of vacancies among the allied health professions. Statistics show that, although university programme numbers in England have risen by 83 per cent, the increase in Scotland is only 4 per cent. There is a similar story with a lack of radiographers. The Government really must do better at workforce planning or we will store up problems for the future.

The problems are not just in recruitment. I hope that members will forgive my being parochial. In my constituency, the Vale of Leven hospital physiotherapy service has had to share its location with the minor injuries unit as a result of Covid. Staff were happy to do that, but they are now being relocated to another part of the hospital, which is unsuitable. Consequently, they are only able to see fewer patients than before, and the service suffers. The Government must prioritise the remobilisation of rehabilitation services, especially in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

It is vital that we do more to not only attract people to AHP roles but retain them, with decent working conditions that allow them to do their job. Given the pressures that the NHS will face over the coming winter, the work that AHPs do around early intervention, prevention and rehabilitation strategies should be at the forefront of our recovery plans, with full support and fair wages given to staff.

I pay tribute to all the allied health professionals who work tirelessly in health and social care across Scotland. We must support and value them as we work towards our shared objective of helping people to live healthier and better lives.

17:38  

I thank Carol Mochan. I am delighted that we were able to reschedule the debate so that we can celebrate allied health professionals. From what I saw, it was definitely a party last time, and I hope that AHPs will all be partying again tonight.

When we think of our NHS, it is usually images of doctors and nurses that spring to mind, but the 14 allied health professions make up the third largest group of healthcare workers in the NHS. Other members, including Christine Grahame, have identified those professions. Allied health professionals play a vital role in the delivery of health and social care services to people across Scotland. They are rightly valued by professionals, patients and families alike.

We have watched our healthcare professionals go above and beyond the call of duty over the past few years. They have adapted not just their practice but, sometimes, their whole lives, and they have shown a selfless determination to provide essential care to others. That includes our allied health professionals, and many of us are forever grateful. Allied health professionals often help to reduce or remove the need for medical interventions, which helps to drive service improvement and sustainability across community and acute sectors, and they are set to play a vital role as we build a national care service that is fit for Scotland’s people.

I will give a couple of local stories. In South Lanarkshire, the autism resource co-ordination hub supports autistic families, including my own. I remember quite a few parent-carer sessions with a range of AHPs that were organised through the ARCH. The one that stands out most in my memory was a visit from an occupational therapist. She set out some tasks that were designed to give parents a flavour of how autistic kids experience the world. For the first exercise, all the parents were given a set of boxing gloves and were instructed to open a packet of crisps. Trust me, it is not easy; it is almost impossible.

Next, we were handed a set of binoculars and were told to hold them back to front so that everything looked really wee. We then had to try to step inside some empty boxes. To be honest, it was hilarious, and I will never forget the feeling of waving my foot around as I tried to land it inside a large box, with my proprioception thrown right off kilter. The tasks were simple but really effective. I was able to experience my child’s challenges for myself, and I am still grateful to that OT for giving me a little window into his world. The experience inspired patience when my child struggled with tasks that others perceived as being really easy, and it made me a better parent.

The ARCH works closely with a couple of NHS Lanarkshire allied health professionals who are trained as specialist autism advisers. They deliver a range of workshops that focus on sensory issues and life skills such as eating, washing and dressing, and they offer lots of practical strategies that empower autistic people to go out there and live their best lives as independently as possible. Those AHPs are often described by colleagues as superstars, and Ramon Hutchinson, the project co-ordinator, talks enthusiastically about their passion, curiosity and empathy as they work with families to understand and support them through the challenges that neurodivergence brings.

A second organisation in my constituency, Enable Scotland, places huge value on its work with allied health professionals. It highlights their skilled approach and input to multidisciplinary teams as they support individuals with complex needs. I am told that their focus on achieving the outcomes that really matter to individuals is always key, from supported self-management to rehabilitation and therapeutic services.

Enable Care told me the story of a young Lanarkshire man who spent several years in hospital before eventually securing a home in the community where he could live, with support. That was far from a simple task—it was fraught with complexities and difficulties, and it took a long time—but the team’s determination made it happen. The support of AHPs was critical in the young man getting his life back. That just could not have happened without them.

It is only fair that we celebrate and showcase the contributions that our AHPs make to individuals and our society, so I say to all our AHPs: we see you, and we thank you.

I call Gillian Mackay, who joins us remotely.

17:43  

I thank Carol Mochan for securing this evening’s debate and all the allied health professionals in the gallery and across the country. The debate gives us an important space to discuss the valuable work of allied health professionals the length and breadth of Scotland.

As we have heard, allied health professionals are a wide and varied collection of professionals, including speech and language therapists, diagnostic radiographers, art therapists, podiatrists and many others. Those professionals play a vital role in supporting and improving patients’ wellbeing in health settings and across our communities.

I thank Movement for Health for its work in highlighting the great work that is done by allied health professionals on a range of issues. Among its policy asks, it highlights the importance of social prescribing, which is an issue that I have raised many times in the chamber and at the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. Although we all recognise the importance of our physical health, the importance of wellbeing is becoming an increasingly familiar part of the dialogue during discussions on health.

AHPs have the potential to support a wider transition towards more preventative health interventions. For many, they provide vital support without which some people might have had their health issues deteriorate.

Social prescribing can allow for more individually orientated healthcare provision. Such an approach puts the individual at the heart of decision making and outcomes, rather than focusing on pre-prescribed or generic outcomes. Without such talented allied health professionals, who are trained across so many various sectors of healthcare, policy initiatives such as social prescribing would surely not be possible.

In Lanarkshire, in my Central Scotland region, there is a well-established social prescribing programme that has been shown to help people by improving self-confidence and self-esteem, reducing low mood and feelings of stress and helping people to develop positive ways of coping with the challenges of life, among its other benefits. We must view the relationship between health and wellbeing in that way, with both being necessary, and where helping one improves the other.

I thank Movement for Health for highlighting some of the issues that were raised in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s “Tackling health inequalities in Scotland” report. As the report notes, community link workers are one of the services that link the wider array of allied health professionals with those in the community. One of the report’s recommendations was to further embed community link workers across GP practices in Scotland. Community link workers have the potential to further support health and wellbeing, and allied health professionals, to address poor health outcomes in areas of deprivation in particular by tying in the expertise of a wide range of social, mental health and physical health care providers, including AHPs, and being able to advise patients on financial and social security issues.

As we have heard, allied health professionals make up the third largest workforce in the NHS. Much like other sectors in the NHS, appropriate resourcing is essential to the delivery of good health and social care. Brexit has been a significant driver of recruitment issues in our NHS, and I am sure that many colleagues across the chamber will share my alarm at the announcement of £18 billion-worth of public sector spending cuts. The knock-on effect that those cuts would have on Scotland’s public sector could be really damaging.

As parliamentarians, we have to acknowledge those real and prevalent challenges, especially given the cost of living crisis and the impacts of the Covid pandemic. We must ensure that allied health professionals do not simply hear our warm thanks but get our support in their delivery of crucial health and social care benefits, and that they are not left behind in those circumstances.

17:47  

I, too, congratulate Carol Mochan on securing the debate. As we heard from Tess White and others, AHPs encompass a range of health professions and make up the third largest workforce in NHS Scotland. I, too, welcome to the gallery those who have come to their Parliament this evening—it is great that they are here.

AHPs include dieticians, occupational therapists, orthoptists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and many others that members have already named. Carol Mochan may notice that I mentioned dieticians first; I learned so much about insulin and carbohydrate ratios, and counting carbs to help manage my type 1 diabetes, from a fab dietician, whom I thank.

The breadth of AHPs’ skills and their reach across the age continuum, the third sector, communities and health and care settings make them ideally placed to be leaders in the public health environment. Their expertise is used to support prevention and self-management and promote wellbeing, and it is right that we celebrate their contribution to the health of people in Scotland as well as to the prevention agenda and our NHS.

Even before the Covid pandemic, Scotland, like the rest of the UK, was facing a number of significant public health challenges as a result of its changing demographics. Those changes are driven by improvements in life expectancy, as people are living longer; alongside that, people are having fewer children or are having children later in life. In addition, younger people are moving away from remote and rural areas, such as my South Scotland region, towards towns and cities. We know that that brings both opportunities and challenges for the delivery of public services and for society at national and local level. Those challenges have broadened the need for AHPs to ensure that people are being seen by the most appropriate skilled professional.

AHPs act as a catalyst by championing prevention and beneficial lifestyle changes to improve health and wellbeing, thus maximising an individual’s potential to live a full and active life so that they can thrive. AHPs can significantly improve productivity, quality and effectiveness by working in collaboration with their medical, nursing and social care colleagues. Complex problems require teamwork within the multidisciplinary team, and I know from my former NHS colleagues, and directly from my working life in my previous NHS clinical role, that AHPs support patient flow throughout the health system.

AHPs are experts in assessment and rehab, and their expertise brings different ideas and a different perspective to the delivery of services. The role of AHPs is integral to many clinical pathways, but there is always a huge opportunity to increase and better utilise our AHPs, for example by including them in NHS leadership roles.

Carol Mochan is right to ask members to visit local allied health professionals. Just last week, I visited Specsavers in Dumfries, where I met the company’s director of NHS services, Stephen McAndrew, and the director of Specsavers Dumfries, Elaine Campbell. I was totally impressed by how Specsavers has worked with the Scottish Government, particularly over the pandemic, to ensure that patient needs have been met. We discussed glaucoma, visual impairment, vision loss and the excellent knowledge and skills of the team in Dumfries. Specsavers and other optometrists have a demonstrated track record of improving eye health and dealing with eye problems, so that people avoid a hospital visit or admission.

I also heard how Specsavers is moving into doing more audiology work. I would welcome an update from the minister on the Scottish Government’s work to support and enable the provision of audiology services in primary care and to ensure that everyone has access to audiology services, as we know that good hearing health can contribute to productivity and to people staying in the workplace for longer and having a better quality of life.

I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to raising public awareness of the work of AHPs, including through the “Scottish Allied Health Professions Public Health Strategic Framework Implementation Plan”, but given how much pressure our NHS is currently under, I ask whether the minister has plans to increase the awareness-raising efforts, in order to ensure that people are seen by the most appropriate professionals and to prevent secondary admissions to hospital.

Allied health professionals do a fantastic job every day, and I thank them all for what they do. I agree that we need to increase awareness of the invaluable role of AHPs and of the contribution that they make.

17:51  

I am grateful for the opportunity to close the debate on behalf of the Scottish Government, and I thank Carol Mochan for lodging her motion.

When, after many hours of sitting in this chamber, I arrived at the reception for allied health professionals that Carol Mochan mentioned, it was in full swing, and I was reminded, as I have been many times in my professional life, of just how can-do allied health professionals are. They did not wait for the politicians—they just cracked on and got on with it.

I am acutely aware that, when some people think of our health service, they think of ambulances, operating theatres, accidents and emergencies, but today’s debate has shown the extensive nature of the multidisciplinary roles that are played by the third-largest healthcare workforce—our allied health professional community. From physiotherapists to art therapists and from radiography to podiatry, across health, social care, housing, education, prisons and more, it is our 14 unique allied health professions that are so often at the forefront of delivering healthcare in this country. I want to thank each and every one of our AHPs for the invaluable role that they play in our society.

Over the past two years, the world has faced a once-in-a-century event, which has been one of the biggest crises that our health service and our society have ever faced. The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on the AHP family but, day after day, AHPs found innovative new ways of working. They are can-do, and I was awed by the way in which they rose to the challenge. This country and its people owe all AHPs a debt that cannot be repaid. As we continue along our road to recovery, we will continue to rely on the AHP community to see us through.

It is now more important than ever that we take an explicit public health focus in considering how we prioritise the delivery of health and social care. The breadth of services that AHPs provide in communities, schools and health settings, with their focus on early intervention, prevention and wellbeing, makes them ideally placed to continue to build on good practice in public health. That is why the Scottish Government supported the development of a united and collective approach to public health for AHPs, which is set out in the “Scottish Allied Health Professions Public Health Strategic Framework Implementation Plan”. The implementation plan signals a key milestone in expanding the role of AHPs in promoting public health in Scotland, along with the goals and actions that are needed to realise the vision.

The overall ambition for the role of?allied health professionals?in public health has been set through collaborative work across the four nations. The development of the? “UK Allied Health Professions Public Health Strategic Framework” has been important in ensuring that the ambition and goals of the UK strategic framework are relevant in Scotland’s unique context. A national oversight group, which is currently being established, will build momentum and monitor progress as we implement the strategy at local level.

The Scottish Government recognises the need to recruit and train the next generation of the allied health professions. The Government believes in the power of education, and we want anyone who has an interest in delivering healthcare to see a viable path to professional registration and on-going career development.

To achieve that, we are investing in a difference-making bursary—worth £10,000 per year—for paramedic science students; all undergraduate AHP students have a guarantee of free tuition fees; and we have made a commitment to increase reporting radiography training places by 30 from 2020 to 2023, as part of our integrated workforce plans. To date, 35 students have been funded to complete the training and, in addition, funding was made available to train 12 assistant radiographers.

Through a funded scheme to increase the number of graduating physiotherapists working in the NHS, we have also committed a total of £4.5 million to increase the number of musculoskeletal physiotherapists working in primary care. Thirty-seven students are due to complete their training in December 2023, and a further 53 students are due to complete training in December 2024.

In addition, our funding of the type 2 diabetes prevention framework has enabled the expansion of the dietetic workforce in Scotland and increased patient access to expert dietetic care. With NHS Education Scotland, we are investigating the need for dieticians to work in new roles in primary care settings, such as GP practices, to deliver more prevention, early detection and early intervention work as part of the multidisciplinary team.

We have produced a once-for-Scotland rehabilitation approach, which was published in June 2022. It is based on the six principles of good rehabilitation, and it addresses the challenges of individuals who are emerging from the pandemic with increasingly complex physical and mental health needs that require rehabilitation. The approach has been developed with NHS health boards, health and social care partners, and third and independent sectors, and it recognises the crucial role that allied health professionals play in rehabilitation.

Finally, I will mention an investment that I am really delighted with. Over the next three years, we are investing in a new programme of work to support early intervention, so that our speech and language therapists can work with children and their families and help to build confidence and capacity for staff who work in early learning and childcare settings. That work will join up efforts across other key public services, such as health visiting.

Colleagues around the chamber have highlighted unique examples of how AHPs continue to shape the delivery of healthcare across the country, but what does the future hold for those professions? How can we ensure that the current approach is consistent with the needs of the people of Scotland—now and in the years to come?

To address those questions, the Government is carrying out a review—led by Scotland’s chief AHP officer, Carolyn McDonald—of allied health profession education and the workforce. Leaders across the profession are working collaboratively and, at the centre of the review, are offering their guidance by chairing important workstreams or dedicating their time and expertise as members of the wider oversight group. The scope of the review is unashamedly wide-ranging; it is looking at the whole system, and everything—from recruitment to advancing practice to educational delivery models—is being considered. We are doing that in partnership with the AHP community, because its continued participation and leadership in that space is vital to the review’s success.

I thank all the members who have participated in the debate and shared their stories of this inspiring group of professionals. Today, we have helped to shine the spotlight on those important roles. Occupational therapists might never have their own BBC drama—although perhaps my OT pals will tell me something different—and dieticians might not get a running commentary on the evening news, but each of those unique 14 professions should be celebrated for their continuing commitment to their vocation and for the care and support that they provide every day in our communities. Whether it is the physio who helps a patient to find their feet after a catastrophic injury or the art therapist who provides a means of expression for those in the justice system, they so often work in areas in which we would never think to look.

I hope that what we have said today demonstrates the regard in which this Government holds our AHP family.

Meeting closed at 18:00.