Mark Greatrex, Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust's interim chief executive, writes for the Globe.

IT'S Allied Health Professions Day ...

An opportunity to celebrate the great work that Allied Health Professionals (AHP) do and to share more about the varied roles of AHPs across all our therapy services.

At WCHC we value our AHP colleagues and the therapy services they provide here at the Trust - and with so much fantastic work going on we wanted to take the opportunity of AHP Day to showcase this.

In Wirral, our therapies teams across children and adult speech and language therapy, children and adult dietetics, physiotherapy, podiatry and occupational therapy work hard to keep the communities of Wirral well.

Working in a joined-up way with other community services, AHPs play an important role in a patient's care journey, to rehabilitate and get their lives back on track.

While the professions' disciplines may vary, their shared focus is on improving health and wellbeing to maximise the potential for individuals to live full lives.

During the pandemic this has been no different.

Our AHP colleagues have continued to provide fantastic care while adapting to new ways of working.

Never before have they had to be so adaptable and flexible and by introducing digital technology, AHPs have been able to meet the needs of patients in new and innovative ways.

Our adult nutrition and dietetics service developed a way to provide diabetes smart group consultations online, our weight management dieticians have filmed healthy eating videos to replace the group education sessions and adult speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and our exercise physiologists have been introducing video consultations direct into people's homes and care homes.

Many of the therapists and AHPs have continued to see people face-to-face.

From the very start of the pandemic they have put processes in place to help determine who can safely receive care remotely, and who needs a face-to-face appointment.

Some conditions require more of a hands on approach or patients may not have access to technology.

And so, measures have been put in place to ensure those patients can attend their therapy appointment and receive the care they need in a safe environment.

Speaking to our AHP colleagues, it is clear how proud they feel, not only of their role, but also the way they have adapted to new ways of delivering care.

Faye Rodger, physiotherapist shared: "Together, we continue with assessments and rehabilitation of patients to enable them to return home as soon as possible."

Samantha Hughes, specialist podiatrist adds: "It is an amazing feeling to be able to improve someone’s mobility and quality of life with the treatments that we provide."

Sarah Crompton, occupational therapist, sums up: "When you work with a person and see that person start to change and begin to gain control over their lives then I know my job is worthwhile."

Allied Health Professionals certainly are a valuable part of the WCHC workforce. They bring together specialist knowledge and integrated care to deliver fantastic results for our patients and service users.

To find out more, search the hashtag #AHPs on Twitter, visit www.england.nhs.uk/ahp or visit www.wchc.nhs.uk to find out more about our Therapies Services.

In other news…

Our Council of Governor Elections are now open to members of our Trust.

We have two public Governor vacancies; one in Wallasey and one in Wirral West.

Being a governor is a vital role; you will be one of the voices representing our members, helping shape the future of our Trust and improving the experience patients receive.

If this is something you would like to do, what are you waiting for?

Please put yourself forward today by visiting our website - www.wchc.nhs.uk. Closing date for nominations is 5pm next Wednesday, October 21.