Henrietta Holmes-Smith
I studied at University of Sheffield and after graduating I moved to Canterbury for my first post as a qualified orthoptist. This was a great post to start my career where I gained valuable clinical experience aided by excellent mentors who helped me to further develop and reflect on my clinical and analytical skills.
I then moved to Bournemouth where I have continued to use those skills to develop my career with further learning and training. I am now one of two Deputy Head’s within the Orthoptic Department. My role involves leading education within the department for undergraduate orthoptists, junior orthoptists and junior doctors; leading the service provision for orthoptic care for stroke patients with visual difficulties; mentoring junior orthoptists; involvement in research and supporting the Head of Service.
I enjoy working in the Orthoptic Department, Eye Unit, University Hospitals Dorset as it has a culture for being friendly, supportive and inclusive. There are also opportunities for on-going learning, training and development at all stages of your career.
What benefits can you see in having a career framework which covers all allied health professionals?
The biggest benefit I can see is that it will aim to bring parity amongst all AHP’s at all levels. It helps to define more clearly what is expected of each band and how they can develop their careers across the four pillars of professional practice, education, leadership and evidence, research and development.
It will be a great addition to AHP’s annual appraisal process making it even more tailored to the individual to help them gain the most within their chosen career.
I would look to use the tool within the appraisal process to ensure I’m gaining the most within my career and maximising the opportunities within the four pillars set out by the framework.
It will also be very helpful for me when mentoring and undertaking the appraisals for junior orthoptic staff to help them achieve their full potential and continue to develop the workforce of the future.
Luisa Mellish
I qualified as a speech and language therapist in 2015 and started working as a band 5 in Epsom and Dorking in Surrey as a mixed acute and community therapist with adults with acquired neurological difficulties. In 2005 I moved to Dorset and started working in Poole as a band 5 community therapist working with a MDT for Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust. I had various roles in this team and started to co-ordinate the Communication Plus Service with the Stroke Association as well as ESD. In 2016, I took on the band 7 team lead roll for the Poole Adult Community SALT Team which I loved as it was a team I was passionate about. In 2019 when the previous service manager retired, I took on the role of band 8a service manager for the Adult Community SALT Team and most recently in September 2020, I picked up some more services to add to my portfolio including Stroke ESD, Community Neurology Services and Parkinson’s Disease Nurses.
I love working in Dorset as I think the area is lovely, it’s such a nice place to live. The trust, Dorset Healthcare, is the best I have worked for and they are supportive, very pro-active and very integrated. All the staff are passionate about what they do and they really make you fell like you are valued and looked after. I am also incredibly proud of my teams and working with them, I work with such a wonderful bunch of people who are hardworking and dedicated and passionate and I feel lucking to work in the trust I do with the teams I do.
What benefits can you see in having a career framework which covers all allied health professionals?
I think the benefits are that all Allied Health Professionals will be working to the same framework with the same underpinning knowledge and skills and expected to be at same level at all points in their careers. I think this means that we are all consistent in all professions at each banding and it isn’t dependent on where you work and what input you are given. It would enable us all to be working towards the same competencies and goals across all professions.
I would use it to help map out areas of strength and areas for development or gaps in knowledge and skills that would help me progress from one banding to another. I think this is particularly useful as you progress up the bandings and there is more management required and this would help identify what is required to progress. It would also be useful to plan goals and objectives on appraisals for each year in line with career aspirations and what I would like to achieve.
Danielle Cocking
I started out my physiotherapy career in South Wales after graduating from Cardiff University and starting NHS band 5 rotations. Having spent 1.5 years rotating and gaining experience, I then spent a short time as a Band 6 in mental health, before then returning home to Dorset to continue progressing my career – this has involved a mixture of private and NHS MSK posts. I have recently begun my advanced practice journey through studying for my MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice, as well as starting a training post as a first contact practitioner. Dorset is my childhood home, and working at Poole Hospital has been amazing – the team are very supportive, knowledgeable and progressive, with a manager that is very keen on individual career development.
What benefits can you see in having a career framework which covers all allied health professionals?
There seems to be a wide variety of career progression routes, even just within physiotherapy, as well as across various AHP roles. This then makes it challenging for those in more junior roles to know the process they will need to follow in order to progress their career in the most efficient and effective way. Standardises procedures and expectations will allow for a greater continuity of standards of practice within advancing practice. It will also mean that all AHPs will have equal access to these formalised career progression routes, making for fair opportunity for advanced practice progression.
I would use it to help map out areas of strength and areas for development or gaps in knowledge and skills that would help me progress from one banding to another. I think this is particularly useful as you progress up the bandings and there is more management required and this would help identify what is required to progress. It would also be useful to plan goals and objectives on appraisals for each year in line with career aspirations and what I would like to achieve.
