A national quality and safety leadership programme for senior allied health professionals
The Allied Health Professionals (AHP) Quality and Safety Senior Leadership Development Programme was co-produced by the national chief allied health professions officer (CAHPO) and NHS Confederation. Designed for senior AHP leaders across England, this six-module programme brought together 60 participants from regional, system and national teams. It aimed to build leadership capability, confidence and collective agency in advancing quality and safety across complex healthcare systems.
The challenge
AHPs, despite representing the third largest clinical workforce in the NHS, have remained underrepresented in governance forums, board-level-quality discussions and national safety reporting. AHPs were often overlooked in recommendations and system-wide frameworks. The challenge was clear to ensure AHP leaders have the capability and agency to take a proactive, system-wide role in shaping and improving quality and safety outcomes.
The AHP Quality and Safety Senior Leadership Development Programme priorities were to:
- develop a shared understanding of quality and safety governance across national, regional and ICS levels
- strengthen leadership skills to articulate AHP quality and safety impact, including staffing, retention and learning environments
- improve understanding of AHP risk identification, escalation and governance processes
- support the recognition of personal leadership agency and build confidence in influencing the quality and safety agenda at system level.
Our goal was to do more than just deliver a leadership programme. We combined leadership development, systems thinking and practical application, so participants could translate learning directly into real-world action.
To achieve these priorities, the programme focused on supporting senior AHP leaders to better understand the quality and safety national frameworks for the NHS, and to build leadership capability to confidently lead and embed them within their organisations and teams. The programme blended leadership development, systems thinking, multi professional collaboration and the practical applications of quality and safety governance to support these leaders to encourage meaningful change
Results and outcomes
The difference this programme made was clear:
- Understanding of NHS priorities soared from 55 per cent to 100 per cent.
- Familiarity with NHS England’s Quality Strategy grew from 22 per cent to 96 per cent.
- Confidence in using complex system safety approaches rose from 66 per cent to 88 per cent.
- 88 per cent of participants felt more confident leading quality and safety initiatives.
- Almost every participant (99 per cent) valued the connections and peer learning they gained — creating a powerful network of AHP leaders ready to support each other.
Perhaps most importantly, these leaders shifted from reactive problem-solvers to strategic influencers, shaping the future of patient safety across whole systems and patient pathways of care.
“We take pride in the tools we bring as AHPs – the lens that we lend to the quality piece; it is important to hear our voices – as AHPs we have a role to play, to talk about quality and to be comfortable to talk about safety.”
Producing the programme
The NHS Confederation worked in partnership with CAHPO to:
- co-design a curriculum tailored to the evolving needs of senior AHP leaders
- blend expert facilitation, peer learning and practical frameworks to maximise impact
- increase understanding of frameworks and tools to support participants in applying learning to real-world challenges
- foster a collaborative, multi-professional environment to build a shared language and purpose around quality and safety leadership.
“This programme has strengthened my voice as the deputy chair to the CAHPO BAME statutory advisory group. It provided us on insights on how to drive real change and to be aware of how to develop safer and equitable cultures.”
Participants told us they valued:
- the safe, supportive space to reflect, explore and challenge ideas
- blended learning that balanced theory with practical tools they could use straight away
- opportunities to connect across professional boundaries and build a shared language for leadership.
“We have been able to exponentiate our learning and where we can add value when looking at the health and care of our populations.”
“The AHP60 programme is a step change in patient safety. It’s taught a contemporary narrative around harm and activated a generation of AHP leaders to the cause.”
How can we help you?
Whether you are looking to develop your senior leaders, embed quality and safety in your organisation, or build system-wide collaboration, the NHS Confederation can help.
We offer bespoke leadership development programmes, expert facilitation, innovative methodology, and support in creating high-impact learning environments that drive real change.
Contact us today to explore how we can co-create a programme tailored to your needs.
