Apprenticeships – Allied Health Professionals
Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) provide frontline healthcare and treatment to help rehabilitate patients who are ill, have disabilities or have special needs, to live life as fully as possible.
Through adopting a holistic approach to healthcare, AHPs are able to help manage patients’ care throughout the life course from birth to palliative care. Their focus is on prevention and improvement of health and wellbeing to maximise the potential for individuals to live full and active lives within their family circles, social networks, education/training and the workplace.
There are 14 different professions within the AHP sector and CUH currently employs people within 11 of these specialties. For more information about these roles at CUH see Where Could I Work? More information can also be found on the NHS pages.
Information is provided below for the AHP apprenticeships at CUH and the academic level for each apprenticeship. For more information about the apprenticeship levels and standards please see Apprenticeships Explained
AHP Career Progression Degree Apprenticeship route
These roles include:
We also hope to commence routes to Radiography in the next 12 months.
There is more information about these apprenticeships further down.
How it works:
- This degree route apprenticeship enables people to train to become graduate registered professionals. It combines work and part time study in a higher education institute (university) and practice placements at CUH.
- Those undertaking these apprenticeships are employed in clinical support roles (Theatre Support Workers, or support roles within Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy).
- The core salary for these apprenticeships combine the CUH career/degree progression rate and the employee’s current pay band, usually band 2 (if current staff are paid a higher rate CUH will consider personal pay protection).
It provides:
- Permanent employment in a clinical support role
- Access to the professional degree programmes
- University course fees paid by CUH (earn, learn and no debt)
- Paid leave for academic study and practice placement
- Support throughout your employment and training
- Promotion to the professional band 5 role, subject to registration with the HPCC
Operating specialised mammography equipment safely and within standard operating procedures to produce high quality mammography images. Mammography Associates work within the breast imaging workforce undertaking routine two-view mammography (x-ray images of breasts). You will work in a multi-disciplinary team within a hospital or in a community setting (e.g. mobile breast screening units, medical centres), undertaking mammography of individuals as part of a breast screening programme.
You will also be able to undertake routine mammography on individuals with symptoms of breast disease. You will have a good understanding of breast anatomy, physiology and pathology, including clinical signs and symptoms of breast cancer, and be able to apply knowledge of ionising radiation regulations.
The apprenticeship that goes alongside this role is a Higher Apprenticeship (Level 4).
Mammography Associate
You will mainly work in operating departments/theatres. You will work alongside other professionals (such as doctors and nurses) and take a lead role in ensuring a patient is safe during each stage. ODPs must continually make professional decisions to ensure the patient receives the best care before, during and after their surgery.
ODPs also ensure that the operating theatre environment is safe and effective and therefore have expertise in the management of specialist equipment and materials in a highly technical environment, for example handling surgical instruments, checking anaesthetic equipment, moving patients and giving medication.
You must demonstrate confidence, compassion, competence and effective judgement; being responsible for your decisions. You must use evidence based practice to inform & evaluate the effectiveness of the actions you take with the aim of continually improving outcomes for patients.
Operating Department Practitioner
Occupational Therapy is a rewarding career which entails working with individuals to enable them to participate in meaningful occupations and activities of everyday life.
As a career, Occupational Therapists require a highly developed knowledge and professional skill-set enabling them to work across a range of settings and environments, ranging from birth to end of life. Occupational Therapists work in many settings, including health organisations, social care services, housing, education, voluntary organisations, or as independent practitioners.
They also work in a wide variety of specialties including working with individuals with physical and mental health conditions, learning disabilities, long-term conditions, palliative care needs. Due to their condition or circumstances, these individuals may have difficulty carrying out their daily activities.
Occupational Therapists are problem solvers who aim to help people to carry out these activities – or ‘occupations’ – that they need to do and want to do by providing ‘practical support to empower people to facilitate recovery and overcome barriers preventing them from doing the activities that matter to them’ (Royal College of Occupational Therapists 2019).
Occupational Therapist
Physiotherapy is a science-based profession. You will work with individuals, their families and carers, from birth to end of life. You will lead and deliver programmes and interventions to help people affected by injury, ageing, illness or disability.
Physiotherapists use a range of physical and psychological treatment approaches, including movement, exercise and manual therapy, to optimise an individual’s mobility, function and quality of life. You will also provide education about health and wellbeing and provide specific advice that can be applied to everyday activities to manage and reduce the risk of pain or injury.
The profession helps to encourage development and facilitate recovery, enabling people to remain independent for as long as possible.
As a Physiotherapist, you will practice as an autonomous, independent practitioner, while contributing strongly to team-working. You will work with people who may present with complex and challenging problems resulting from multiple illnesses, injury or disability.
Physiotherapist
