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Allied Health Professions in Scotland

Consultants

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How many AHP Consultants will there be?

A. There is no maximum number identified but the Future Directions strategy sets an initial target of 12 consultants by 2004.

Q2. Is there any central funding available for AHP Consultant posts?

A. No, not for funding the posts. However, monies will be made available to train and develop AHP Consultants once they are in post. This will be directed towards the development of leadership skills.

Q3. How many AHP Consultants are currently in post?

A. As yet the first AHP Consultant has not been established in Scotland. Although there are currently a number of potential posts in development.

A range of appointments have already been made in NHS England including:-

Consultant Physiotherapists (pain management, musculoskeletol)
Occupational Therapists (rehabilitation, mental health)
Dieticians (diabetes, obesity)
Podiatrists (diabetes)

Q4. How should I proceed with my submission? Should I develop the submission and then seek funding or have guaranteed funding prior to developing the submission?

A. Both need to be progressed and agreed in parallel. Funding can be explored and secured with partners e.g. Voluntary Sector, Local Authority, Higher Education Institutes.

Q5. How does the Consultant role compare to the roles of Clinical Specialists and Extended Scope Practitioners?

	Consultant	Clinical Specialists/ESP
Grade	Consultant	Head/Supt 3 (equiv)
Payscale	Any 5 points between £33,940 and £46,675	£24,995 to £27,600
Role	Exceptionally high level of clinical expertise. Recognised as making a distinguished contribution to his/her profession Professional/Clinical leadership. Practice and service development. Research and education. Very high level of clinical responsibility	Specialists clinical knowledge and practice. Extended roles as agreed by/with professional bodies. Clinical responsibility for specialist case load
Focus	Strategic developments	Service development

Q6. Which professions are included?

A. All the following professions:

Drama Therapists
Chiropodists/Podiatrists
Dieticians
Art & Music Therapists
Occupational Therapists
Orthoptists
Physiotherapists
Prosthetists and Orthotists
Radiographers (Therapeutic & Diagnostic)
Speech & Language Therapists

Q7 Can a Consultant post have an area wide or regional remit?

A. Yes

Q8. Can a Consultant post be part-time or job share?

A. In principal, the answer is yes to both. We are not aware of any Nurse Consultant posts that are part-time or job share but there are examples of senior management and medical consultant posts that work successfully in this way.

If you wish to proceed along this route, it is even more important that you define the parameters of the post and the available infrastructure for the post holder/

Q9. How do I submit a proposal?

A. (a) Contact should be made as early as possible with the Allied Health Professions Officer to discuss the development of an AHP Consultant post.

(b) Proposals should be sent to:-

Ms Jacqui Lunday
Allied Health Professions Officer
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Room GE 05
EH1 3DG Tel No: 0131 244 2311

Q10. What else should I include in the submission?

A. Incorporated into the submission should be:

A covering letter giving details of the specific nature of the post, which should also include contact information for particular organisations and the proposer.
Background information in support of the development of this post including, policy context, health needs assessment, impact on patient care, service development issues links with regional networks (such as cancer/stroke/diabetes etc.) sign up by key stakeholders and strategic partnerships.
A draft job description person specification and job plan including clinical practice/public health function.
Education/research funding.
Risk Assessment.
Management/support structures and lines of accountability.
A provisional assessment of salary.
A timetable and details of the appointment process.
Confirmation of agreed recurrent funding from NHS Board and other partner organisations.

Q11. This is the first consultant submission I have written. I am not sure if it is what is required by the assessment panel. What should I do?

A. There are a number of options available:

i)          Check that you have included all the information outlined on the proforma. Where possible submissions should be written in this format.

ii)         Find an example of a successful Nurse Consultant proposal. It you have a Nurse Consultant in your or a neighbouring organisation, there should be a submission available. Contacts should normally be made through the Director of Nursing.

Some AHP Directors and Directors of Nursing have kindly made some successful proposals available to us. If you would like a copy of one, please contact the AHP office on 0131 244 2311, or view them on the AHP website:- www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/ahp

iii)         If you have any questions about your submission and/or would like some help, once you have completed the first draft, call us in the AHP office (number as above).

Q12. What academic qualifications should I request as essential on the personal specification?

A. No specific details of minimum education requirements are given in any of the documents but it is very clear that to fulfil the role successfully, post holders will have to be working at or towards masters level. The personal specifications for some of the nurse consultant posts have requested a first degree as a minimum standard.

Q13. Can I upgrade staff in current specialist posts to the Consultant grade?

A. No. The title Consultant Practitioner will ONLY apply to new posts established under the agreement set out in Advance Letter PCS (PAM)(PTA) 2003/1. The title must not be awarded to individuals in recognition of innovative or excellent practice or used to redesign posts around existing post holders, i.e. advanced practitioners. Remember that grading is based on the post NOT the person.

Q14. How will the proposals be assessed?

A A virtual assessment panel will be convened with a range of experts who have relevant specialist knowledge and strategic experience for each consultant post proposal. This process will be co-ordinated by the Allied Health Professions Officer.

Q15. Who will participate in assessment panel?

A. A range of representatives and experts may include:-

Allied Health Professions Officer

Research & Development representative

Workforce Development Unit representative.

An expert practitioner in the specialist area

Educational representative

Patient/Public representative

AHP or Service Director/Manager

AHP Professional body representative

Nurse Director/Manager

Q16. How will the AHP Consultant posts be advertised?

A. All consultant posts will be advertised nationally by the prospective employees and all equal opportunity rules will apply.

Q17. Where/how will the AHP Consultant be line managed?

A. AHPs are a complex group of professions which sit in a variety of structures within and across organisations. Line management arrangements will vary from organisation to organisation but the seniority of the post, the strategic role and best fit should be taken into consideration when making the decision.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy paper PA56 Physiotherapy Consultant(NHS): Role, Attributes and Guidance for Establishing Posts 3.2.2 states that consultants will have clinical responsibilities beyond their immediate management structure, but that normal principles will apply. Physiotherapy Consultants could therefore be managed by a
Superintendent III manager.

In order to maximise the success of the consultant role, the issues around working relationships and accountability should be discussed and agreed as part of the process of establishing the post.

Further Reading:

NHS Circular PCS (PAM) (PTA) 2003/1 available on SHOW website.www.show.alliedhealthprofessions

UNI PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS

Winning Posts Consultant Podiatrists	The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists 1 Fellmongers Path Towerbridge Road London, SE1 3LY Tel: 0207 234 8620
Physiotherapy Consultant (NHS): Role, Attributes and Guidance for Establishing Posts – Information Paper No. PA56	The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy 14 Bedford Row London, WC1R 4ED Tel 020 7306 6633 pa@csphysio.org.uk
Developing the business case for consultant radiographers	The College of Radiographers 207 Providence Square Mill Street London, SE1 2EW Tel: 020 7740 7200
BAAT Guidelines to Establishing Consultant Art Therapist Posts (received)	The British Association of Art Therapists Southampton Place Business Centre 16-19 Southampton Place London, WC1A 2AJ Tel: 0207 745 7262
Dietetic Consultant Posts – Your Questions Answered (received)	The British Dietetics Association 5^th Floor Charles House 148/9 Great Charles Street Birmingham, B3 3HT Tel: 0121 200 8080
Leadership for Consultant Post for AHP’s	Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists 2 White Hart Yard London, SE1 1NX Tel: 020 7378 1200
No document.	British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists Sir James Clark Building Abbey Mill Business Centre Paisley PA1 1TJ Tel: 0141 561 7217
No document.	British Orthoptics Society (Judith Brook) Tavistock House North Tavistock Square London, WC1H 9HX Tel: 020 7387 7992
COT/BAOT Briefings Occupational Therapy Clinical Specialist COT/BAOT Briefings Consultant Occupational Therapist	College of Occupational Therapists Education and Practice Departments 106 – 114 Borough High Street London, SE1 1LB Tel: 020 7357 6480