First-ever National Allied Health Professionals Day celebrated

The first-ever National Allied Health Professionals Day is being celebrated on Monday 15 October, offering patients and staff the opportunity to learn more about the range of excellent services provided by AHPs.

National AHPs Day celebrates the high-quality contribution to health and social care of health professionals including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, speech and language therapists, dietitians and radiologists.

AHP staff at Fairfield General Hospital offered ‘Health Chats’ to patients on selected surgical wards to help patients manage their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

The Royal Oldham Hospital are celebrating with a full day of events, keen for everyone to show their support for the first national AHP Day and to use the opportunity to find out more about the work that AHPs do.

Deborah Bancroft, Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner at Fairfield General Hospital said: “AHPs are collectively committed to transforming the health, care and wellbeing of our patients and our wider communities.

"AHPs work across a wide range of sectors, from children with developmental problems, to rehabilitating patients who have had neurological disorders, such as MS or following a stroke.

"AHPs also help people live with chronic long-term conditions, such as those with respiratory conditions or persistent pain. We really help them to improve their function, better manage their conditions long term, and really improve their quality of life.”

Patient case study

One patient who has benefited from the team at Fairfield General Hospital is physiotherapy patient Joan Wood from Hopwood.  77-year-old Joan was treated at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury for a knee and cartilage problem between June and September 2018.

She said: “I had a problem with my knee, it used to let me down, it was very painful and once I was down on the floor doing anything with the children and the grandchildren, I could not get up without my husband helping me to get up.

“Sometimes, even when I was getting up off the settee, the pain was terrific, and it made me feel like it was never going to get better.

“I told the doctor I did not want a new knee and that I had been told that there was nothing they could do. He sent me to Fairfield General Hospital in Bury and when they had done the X-ray, he showed it to me and he said you don’t need a new knee.

“He said persevere with the physio for four months, and I have only been doing it for three months, and I am now perfect, like I was before. I walk, I swim, I do my exercises regularly, and I am never still.

“I feel like I have got a new lease of life now, because I am back to how I was before.

“I am really pleased with what they have done for me.”