Latest news with #AHPs
South Wales Argus
15 hours ago
- Health
- South Wales Argus
Senedd hears allied health professionals ‘undervalued'
Mabon ap Gwynfor said allied health professionals (AHPs) – more than a dozen professions from paramedics to radiographers – make up around a quarter of the NHS workforce. But Plaid Cymru's shadow health secretary told the Senedd that allied health professionals are 'constantly undervalued' and receive 'far too little attention'. Mr ap Gwynfor called on the Welsh Government to develop a long-term workforce strategy as he led a debate on a motion backed by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. He said: 'Wales invests in training the next generation of AHPs, yet shockingly, many of them are unable to secure employment…. These are highly skilled, motivated individuals trained at public expense but often left underemployed or forced to leave Wales for work.' Senedd members warned of the 'postcode lottery', with Mr ap Gwynfor saying: 'Too often, your ability to access life-changing support depends on where you live, not what you need.' The Society of Radiographers has warned of a chronic shortage of radiographers across the NHS, with an average department vacancy rate of 15 per cent. Wales also has fewer speech and language therapists per head than anywhere else in the UK and trains only 55 a year. The Conservatives' Mark Isherwood said: 'To make matters worse, the youth justice board for England and Wales reports that 71 per cent of sentenced children have speech, language or communication difficulties, showing just how important these services are.' Labour's John Griffiths echoed concerns about the barriers many patients face when accessing health care, including limited provision and long waiting times in some areas. Jeremy Miles, Wales' health secretary, agreed about the need to invest to nurture and develop the workforce, describing AHPs as the 'heartbeat of the health service'. He told Senedd members there are more allied health professionals working in the NHS in Wales than ever before, with a 12 per cent increase in the past three years. Mr Miles drew attention to an extra £5m the Welsh Government made available to health boards every year from April 2023 to create more AHP posts. 'More than 100 additional full-time equivalent AHPs and support workers have been employed as a direct result of that additional investment,' he said. The Senedd voted 31-0, with 16 abstentions, in favour of the motion following the debate
Borneo Post
28-05-2025
- General
- Borneo Post
Awang Tengah: Bako, Lambir Hills National Parks nominated as Asean Heritage Parks
Photo shows part of the Bako National Park coastline. – SFC photo KUCHING (May 28): Two national parks in Sarawak have been nominated as Asean Heritage Parks (AHPs) following the successful inscription of Niah National Park as a Unesco World Heritage Site last year, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan. He said the two parks are Bako National Park in Kuching and Lambir Hills National Park in Miri. 'An assessment by the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has been carried out and the results of this assessment are expected to be known in September 2025,' he told the august House at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting today. According to the ACB, AHPs are defined as 'protected areas of high conservation importance, preserving in total a complete spectrum of representative ecosystems of the Asean region.' These areas are established to generate greater awareness, pride, appreciation, enjoyment and conservation of Asean's rich natural heritage, through a regional network of representative protected areas, and to generate greater collaboration among Asean Member States (AMS) in preserving their shared natural heritage. Bako National Park, which was gazetted as a protected area in 1957, is the oldest national park in Sarawak. It covers 2,742 hectares at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula. Lambir Hills National Park spans 6,949 hectares of naturally formed hilly terrain and is home to around 1,200 species of trees and an equal number of insect species. Awang Tengah, who is Second Natural Resources and Urban Development Minister, also updated the august House on Sarawak's progress in obtaining the Unesco Global Geopark Site recognition for Sarawak Delta Geopark in 2026. 'We are currently in the final stages of preparations for the Unesco assessment scheduled for June 22 to 25, 2025. 'To ensure that all preparations run smoothly, two pre-assessment sessions were conducted in April and May 2025,' he said. Asean Heritage Parks Bako National Park Lambir Hills National Park lead
Irish Post
20-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Post
£5m earmarked for student training to secure Northern Irish health service
INVESTMENT of more than £5m has been announced to secure the health service in Northern Ireland. Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has confirmed a two-year funding package which is designed to expand student training places across the region. 'Our health and social care workforce are our greatest asset,' he said. 'Without their skill and dedication, there is no service,' he added. 'This plan is about stabilising the foundations of our system by investing in the people who will deliver care now and into the future.' In 2025 Northern Ireland's department of health will commission 505 allied health professional (AHPs) pre-registration training places alongside 165 nursing and midwifery places and 330 social work places, the Minister has confirmed This expansion is part of an annual £160m investment in workforce commissioning across all professions. The total cost of the expanded workforce commissioning package is £2.12m in 2025/26 and £3m in 2026/27, which the department has confirmed will be 'met within existing budget baselines'. 'Despite the very real financial pressures we face, I have made it a priority to fund the expansion of our training pipeline over 2025/26 building upon the foundation of the sustained levels of investment over recent years which has delivered growth in the overall Health and Social Care Workforce of over 7000 whole time equivalents in the last 5 years – a 11.2% increase over the period,' Minister Nesbitt said. 'This will not only help us meet rising demand but support the transformation of services particularly in primary and community care where AHPs play a vital and growing role.' See More: Northern Ireland
