Locala Health and Wellbeing is proud to have a range of AHPs working with us to care for our communities.
Some of our AHP colleagues talk here about their career paths and their roles with Locala:
In 1992 I graduated from Nottingham University with a BSc Hons in Physiotherapy – I started my career at the local hospital which was then Huddersfield Royal infirmary – I completed the required rotational posts and initially specialised in Respiratory Care. HRI became CHFT and after having 2 daughters I moved into a team leader position managing the acute therapy teams across Halifax and Huddersfield.
In 2008 when my understanding of the importance of the world outside of the hospital door grew, I moved to be Team Leader of the Intermediate Care Bed Base at Moorlands Grange in Netherton Huddersfield – along with the rest of the team and the service we TUPEd cross to Locala in 2015 with the Care Closer To Home Contract and I remain as Team Leader for the now re-modelled bed bases as part of my role.
Having had experience of raising concerns and speaking up personally I was interested in the post of Guardian when it was advertised in early 2020 – at the height of the pandemic I interviewed virtually and took on the role in the September of the same year. In 2018 I needed more challenge and felt my resilience, empathy and understanding would fit the role requirement. I have now been in post for 2 years and continue to learn and understand the extent and remit of the role. Being Impartial and Independent allows me to offer confidential support without compromise – being a therapist allows me to use some of the skills we have inherent in our practice – actively listening showing empathy and being non-judgmental.
The role as I expected can be very challenging but with a robust support and supervision structure in place to ensure wellbeing then being FTSU Guardian is also extremely rewarding.
My day-to-day role is varied as I currently work across two teams one of which is the CAMHS Multi-disciplinary Neurodevelopmental Assessment Team where we assess for Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Additionally, I work within the SLT team supporting children in mainstream settings who are either diagnosed or awaiting assessment for Autism.
I work collaboratively with key stakeholders such as staff in educational settings, Early Years Advisory Teachers and psychologists to ensure that children are supported to meet their potential with regards to their communication skills.
I graduated as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2009 and since this time I have gained experience of working in a range of community settings, predominantly with children with learning disabilities and Autism, as I identified this as an area of interest early in my career. This has included work in specialist schools for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities, children’s centres, mainstream schools and clinic settings. I’ve always had supportive managers who have encouraged me to develop my skills, and to take on new opportunities which might be outside of my comfort zone.
What I love most about my role is the team that I work in. We are a small group but we are supportive towards one another, and we work to each other’s strengths to get the best outcomes that we can for our children and families.
Stand-out moments for me are when working with individual children. The progress that they make at times can be minimal because of the nature of their difficulties but when we as therapists, and families can see progress it’s a great feeling.
My role is Professional Therapy Lead within the Integrated Community Services Business Unit and I have been in post since April 2022. I’m an Occupational Therapist by background and have predominantly worked in the community setting and within intermediate care services.
I trained at Coventry University and started my professional career on a Basic Grade (Band 5) rotation between Kirklees PCT and Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust. My first position as a registered occupational therapist was within the rapid response therapy assessment team based at Dewsbury hospital in 2003.
I then joined a Senior II (Band 6) rotation before stepping into a Band 7 position as a Senior Occupational Therapist within the intermediate care bed base setting. From there, and through subsequent service re-structures, the role then developed into a team leader position. My learning and development journey including learning at masters level, formal leadership qualifications and Quality Improvement coach programme within Locala alongside work based and experiential learning.
The professional lead role has given me the opportunity to support colleagues in delivering exemplary care to patients in our communities. I am keen to help create an infrastructure with colleagues to evidence the quality of care provision, promote and activate professional development in all the work we do. I work closely with other corporate teams such as Professional Practice, Quality including Quality Improvement and also alongside my professional lead colleagues.
Collectively, our mission as professional leads is ‘to support clinical services to deliver and demonstrate exemplary care within a climate of continuous learning and development. We are here to listen, reflect, review and challenge to understand risks, encourage innovation and showcase successes. We value colleague engagement and contribution to shape services and champion best practice’.
I love, as an AHP, that we support individuals and maximise their independence to live their lives in their own way. We’re in a unique position to work alongside people in their rehabilitation and treatment across all aspects of life. The impact of AHPs is experienced across many sectors and I’m excited to see the continued increased visibility of our professions extending into leadership roles and beyond.
My route to becoming a physiotherapist started when I worked as a clerical officer at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary in physiotherapy reception, I worked there for about 18 months and became interested in physiotherapy work, particularly the assistants that supported the therapists so applied for an assistant’s job and got it!! I worked as an assistant for 10 years and in that time I was supported to apply for a part time physiotherapy course. I successfully qualified in 2007 as a physiotherapist, graduating from York St John, it took me 4 years to qualify.
Once qualified I gained a wide experience of rotations including community rehabilitation, rehab at home, and various inpatient rotations including respiratory, medicine and elderly care. I progressing to a static band 5 musculoskeletal role and then to specialist outpatient MSK physiotherapist.
My current role in Locala is working in the Falls team in Adult Therapies as a Clinical Lead Falls Practitioner. I have worked for Locala for nearly 5 years now. I really enjoy my role and working within the adult therapy team. I love working in the community and collaborative working, visiting patients in their own homes and care home settings. I also enjoy taking an active role in promoting falls prevention to staff and the wider community.
My journey with Locala started during my last year at university when I was given the Intermediate Care Beds at Ings Grove House as my final clinical placement. Arriving on my first day of placement I was nervous, but the team at Ings Grove could not have been more welcoming. Each member of the team supported me throughout the entirety of my placement, aiding my learning by providing opportunities to further develop my knowledge and skills. Having completed my placement, I realised that Locala, particularly the intermediate care setting was where I wanted to work when I graduated.
Whilst awaiting confirmation of my HCPC registration following graduation, I received support from the Ings Grove team leader and other people in Locala in applying for a Locala Bank contract as a Band 4 Assistant Practitioner. At that time the only vacancy in the intermediate care beds was part-time, however, the team leader assisted me in procuring a second part-time role within Locala’s Adult Therapies Services. This enabled me to have the hours I was looking for whilst it also gave me the opportunity for further experience and learning. It was this level of support and care for their colleagues and even potential colleagues that further confirmed that I wanted to be part of the Locala team. Upon receiving my HCPC registration, both services supported me in transitioning from the Band 4 Assistant Practitioner into the Band 5 Physiotherapist role and the changes that came with this.
After working in these roles for around five months, a permanent full-time position became available to work at Ings Grove House as a Physiotherapist. Staff that I worked with at both Ings Grove and in Adult Therapies whilst banking knew that this was the role I really wanted, they gave me reassurance and encouraged me to submit my application. Much to my delight I was invited to interview, was successful in my application and offered the job. Although having worked at Ings Grove for a few months prior to starting the full-time role, I was given the same level of support and guidance as any other new starter.
Locala and the team at Ings Grove ensured that I settled into my role and that I was provided with any assistance needed to ensure a smooth transition. I have now been in the role for six months and could not be happier with my decision to become a part of Locala.
