Allied Health Professionals

In England, AHPs comprise of 14 distinct professional groups:

– Art Therapists

– Diagnostic Radiographers

– Dietitians

– Drama Therapists

– Music Therapists

– Occupational Therapists

– Operating Department Practitioners

– Orthoptists

– Osteopaths

– Paramedics

– Physiotherapists

– Podiatrists

– Prosthetists and Orthotists

– Speech and Language Therapists

– Therapeutic Radiographers

– Rebecca Tyrrell, Regional Head of AHPs, Health Education England, South East

Rebecca worked in Oxfordshire as an NHS Podiatrist for over 20 years with a rewarding career spanning all four pillars of practice: leadership, education, clinical and quality improvement.

In 2014 Rebecca moved to NHS England before joining Health Education England (HEE) in 2017 leading on primary care workforce transformation.

Since 2020 Rebecca has been the Regional Head of AHPs, HEE, directing a workforce programme to ensure an effective supply of AHPs with the right skills in the right place to deliver high quality care across the South East region.

Information about Health Education’s role can be found here.

– Maria Mitchell, AHP Workforce Programme Lead, Health Education England, South East

Maria started her career journey by completing a BSc (Hons) Podiatry at the University of Brighton. She worked in Kent as an NHS Podiatrist for over 12 years and was the musculoskeletal podiatry lead. She worked across the four pillars of practice: leadership, education, clinical and research. She is currently studying for an MPhil at Canterbury Christchurch University and her research is in evaluating the impact of a pre preceptorship on newly qualified AHPs entering the Health and Social Care workplace.

In 2021, Maria joined the South East AHP team at HEE and her main areas of focus are supporting the six AHP faculties across the South East. She will also be leading the workforce programmes for Radiographers, Podiatrists and ODPs across the South East.

– Andy Sharman, Paramedic Workforce Programme Lead, Health Education England, South East

Andy began his career with the NHS in September 1999 working as an Ambulance Care Assistant.   He qualified as an IHCD Ambulance Technician in July 2001 and following completion of his IHCD Paramedic training, qualified as a Paramedic in January 2006.  Following his first tentative steps into higher education he graduated from St Georges University of London with an Undergraduate Diploma in Health Care Practice and moved into a role as a Specialist Paramedic in Urgent and Emergency Care in 2010.  In 2013, he ventured into the world of post graduate study following a successful application for a place within Cohort 1 of the NHS Leadership Academy/Open University Mary Seacole Clinical Leadership Programme obtaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Leadership in 2014.

In November 2014, Andy began a 15-month secondment to the College of Paramedics as the paramedic prescribing project officer within the NHS England Allied Health Professions Medicine Project, before moving into a further 12-month secondment as the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer’s Clinical Fellow within Health Education England (HEE). In April 2017 he entered the world of workforce planning beginning a 12-month fixed term contract as a National Workforce Planner within Health Education England, with a portfolio including all AHPs, Urgent and Emergency Care and Apprenticeships. In May 2018 Andy joined the HEE Wessex HIOW Primary Care Training Hubs team as the Primary Care Learning Environment Lead for Allied Health Professionals and Physician Associates. His portfolio included developing student placements in primary care and the development and implementation multi-professional advanced practice and first contact practice in primary care.

Andy is passionate about professionalism and is an enthusiastic advocate for the unique skills, knowledge, and experience that Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) bring to the NHS. He firmly believes that collaborative working across all providers of health and social care will allow the development of new ways of working to improve clinical care and enrich patient experiences across the entire NHS and wider health and social care community.

Andy joined the SE regional AHP Team in February 2022.

– Forida Yeasmin, Project Team Manager, Health Education England, South East

– Tom Tuckey, Project Support Officer, Health Education England, South East

If you would like to contact the South East AHP team, please email ahp.se@hee.nhs.uk.