Trust staff write and record their own song to mark Allied Health Professionals Day
Colleagues at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have written and recorded a special song to highlight the work of allied health professionals.
Entitled AHPs Help Us In Every Way , it was launched to coincide with Allied Health Professionals Day (14 October),
The song turned into a real team effort with the recording involving music therapists, physiotherapists, dietitians, speech and language therapists and many more.
The Trust has more than 400 allied health professionals – making them the second largest workforce at the organisation behind nurses – and over 100 AHP support staff.
There are 15 distinct occupations that make up the allied health professions and CPFT – which provides community physical health care and mental health services – employs nine of them.
Now the staff are getting in touch with primary schools across the area and asking them to play the song to help educate youngsters about the different areas of their work.
Poonam Hyland, Director of Allied Health Professions at CPFT (pictured), said: “We wanted to do something very different this year to mark Allied Health Professionals Day. 
“We’re really proud to be AHPs but we recognise that many people probably don’t know the range of professions that make up our workforce.
“The song we’ve written explains them and how we make a difference in the lives of the people we treat and care for every day.
“We’ve shared it with primary schools across the area and we’ve had a brilliant response so far.
“We really hope it will inspire young people to find out more about what we do – and maybe even become the AHPs of the future.”
CPFT staff were recently named as finalists in two categories at the National Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards.
AHP practice education leads Sarah Howard and Amanda Allen were shortlisted in the Creative Provision of Placement Award for their project which enables physiotherapy students to begin their initial two-week placements online.
Since it began in 2021, more than 90 students have progressed through the scheme which has been described as “revolutionary in effectively supporting a large group of students at once and ensuring they get a solid grounding in skills and professionalism”.
Meanwhile, the Trust’s music therapists were shortlisted in the Public Health Award. The project - supported by the Trust’s Head to Toe charity following funding from Youth Music Trust - has seen the expansion of music therapy to young people in the community when it was previously limited to only those in inpatient services.
With music therapy proven to improve confidence, reduce anxiety and help avoid admissions to hospital, more than 260 young people have taken part in sessions over the last two years.
Poonam added: “I am delighted for my colleagues. To have not just one but two projects shortlisted in the awards was a fantastic tribute to their work.”
CPFT employs more than 4,700 staff who provide community physical healthcare for older people and those with long-term conditions, mental healthcare for adults and young people, eating disorder services in Norfolk, health visiting and school nursing in Peterborough, social care services and ;earning disability support. The Trust is also renowned for its research work.
Visit the CPFT YouTube channel and watch AHPs Help Us In Every Way .
