Increase capacity

• Maximise undergraduate and returning workforce supply through planned and sustained careers and Return to Practice work
• Modernise roles and ways of working in line with NHS People Plan requirements to ensure a supply of 21st-century facing graduates
• Build significant clinical placement expansion, innovation and resilience

Alternative pathways

Return to Practice 

The Return to Practice (RtP) programme enables former HCPC registrant that have left their professions to re-enter and gain their HCPC registration. You already have the skills and experience to make a big difference to patients, clients, carers and their families and we want to help you on your (RtP) journey.

Helping ensure an essential supply of AHPs

Developing the role of AHP Support Workers

AHP support staff work across the health and care sectors playing an integral role supporting people’s health and wellbeing. Ensuring they have consistent access to high-quality learning and career progression will benefit services and their users, through a high quality and continuity of care and reduced waiting lists. 

AHP Pre-Registration Student Practice-Based Learning Programme

A robust and sustainable approach to good quality placements and learning environments is critical for us to effectively expand our workforce by growing the number of Allied Health Professionals in education. To deliver this Health Education England are working collaboratively across professions, universities, Royal Colleges, professional bodies, and with our regulators to share learning and build ambition.

Helping to ensure an essential supply of Allied Health Professions (AHP) Practice placements: challenges and solutions

Developing sustainable growth in the Allied Health Professions (AHP) workforce is vital to delivering the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan. The majority of new AHPs qualify through pre-registration education thus, ensuring growth in this route is central to achieving this aim. However, to achieve this requires work with the higher education sector, local healthcare providers and national bodies to bring about this increase, raising the number of AHPs in education and training across the system. Historically, placement capacity has been a barrier to increasing current intake levels across the country. Now the recovery of placement capacity not accessible during the COVID19 pandemic has further heightened this challenge. Nevertheless, initial discussions with the Council of Deans of Health suggests expansion could be achieved with improved co-ordination and alignment between Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) and placement providers, supported by a continued focus on increasing application to AHP courses.

An innovative approach to placements 

Through 2020, HEE was joined by three AHP student placements; the 21st-century health and care workforce need to excel in their clinical and academic studies but also learn about leadership, research and the wider context of public and population health. Read about their projects and experiences through a series of blogs: 

• Char Hobbs blog 1 - 22 June 2020
• Char Hobbs blog 2 - 7 July 2020
• Char Hobbs blog 3 - 10 August 2020
• Dan Henson and TJ Okor blog - 24 November 2020

Orthoptics (Pre-registration) MSc

We have worked in partnership with British and Irish Oprthoptics Society, Health Careers, Office for Student to increase awareness and maximise clinical placements to allow the profession to grow to meet patient needs and the increasing role of the orthoptists in advanced roles. Find out more about the course and opportunities available.