AHPs at the heart of Acute Medicine.
Different professions. Shared expertise. Better care for acutely unwell patients.
Allied Health Professionals are central to multidisciplinary acute medical care. From early assessment through treatment, functional recovery and discharge planning, AHP expertise helps patients receive care that considers the whole person.
SAM brings AHPs together across Acute Medical Units, medical Same Day Emergency Care, hospital specialties and community interfaces — supporting clinical practice, professional development, leadership and improvement.
The AHP contribution to the acute medical pathway.
AHPs contribute to decisions throughout the patient's journey — not simply at the point of discharge. Their profession-specific assessments, interventions and clinical reasoning are essential to integrated acute care.
Identify functional, physical, nutritional, cognitive or communication needs and risks.
Provide timely profession-specific assessment and interventions within an agreed scope of practice.
Inform clinical decisions, rehabilitation planning and safe onward care.
Link hospital, community, social care and specialist services around individual patient needs.
Different professions. Complementary expertise.
Explore examples of how AHP professions contribute to Acute Medicine. Actual responsibilities depend on professional regulation, competence and the local service model.
Occupational therapy
Assess occupational performance, cognition, everyday function, environmental needs and risk. Support decisions about rehabilitation, equipment, independence and safe transitions from hospital.
Physiotherapy
Assess and manage mobility, physical function and respiratory needs. Contribute to acute rehabilitation, falls prevention, treatment planning and appropriate onward pathways.
Dietetics
Assess nutritional risk and requirements, support complex nutrition care and contribute to recovery, treatment decisions and continuity of nutritional support.
Speech and language therapy
Assess and manage swallowing and communication needs, support safe eating, drinking and decision-making, and plan specialist follow-up when needed.
Diagnostic and therapeutic radiography
Support timely diagnostic imaging, appropriate imaging pathways and specialist treatment, with an important role in safe clinical decision-making and coordinated care.
Other AHP professions and advanced roles
Paramedics and other registered AHPs contribute according to their professional expertise and local pathways. Enhanced, advanced and consultant-level practice may extend roles where there is appropriate education, supervision and governance.
At the front door: Timely AHP input should respond to clinical need rather than become a universal discharge checklist. The aim is better decisions, safer care and appropriate patient pathways across AMU, medical SDEC and beyond.
Developing your practice and career.
There is no single career pathway for Allied Health Professionals in Acute Medicine. Your development should reflect your profession, expertise, interests and opportunities within the acute medical service. Profession-specific standards and frameworks provide the foundation.
Build confidence and capability
Consolidate professional knowledge, develop acute medical experience, use supervision and preceptorship, and strengthen clinical reasoning within your individual scope of practice.
Extend your contribution
Develop specialist knowledge and capabilities relevant to AMU, medical SDEC and connected pathways. Explore enhanced or specialist practice where appropriate, supported by education, supervision and governance.
Shape services and professional practice
Contribute to teaching, leadership, research, service improvement and workforce development. These opportunities can form part of many career pathways, including advanced and consultant practice.
Find your profession's development framework.
The professional bodies provide career and capability guidance tailored to their own disciplines. Use the framework relevant to your profession, whether you are starting out, developing specialist skills or considering progression.
Professional standards remain the foundation.
Professional registration, continuing development and safe scope of practice underpin AHP careers. HCPC-regulated professionals must maintain relevant CPD, reflect on its contribution to their practice and be able to evidence it when required. Professional-body frameworks support development but do not replace regulatory responsibilities.
Considering enhanced, advanced or consultant-level practice?
Advanced levels of practice create opportunities for experienced AHPs to take on greater clinical complexity, autonomy, leadership and wider professional responsibility. They require appropriate capability, education, professional support and employer governance.
The four pillars are used in advanced practice frameworks and in several profession-specific career frameworks. They provide a useful way of understanding professional development, but their balance and requirements depend on the individual's role and applicable framework.
Expert assessment, intervention, clinical reasoning and managing complexity.
Developing services, supporting teams and influencing care delivery.
Teaching, supervision, developing others and improving learning.
Applying evidence, evaluating practice, undertaking research and improving care.
A four-nation distinction: NHS England's 2025 Multi-professional Framework applies to advanced practice in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own national arrangements. HCPC standards apply to its registrants across the UK, irrespective of their level of practice. These advanced practice frameworks are not intended to define every registered AHP role.
Develop your skills through improvement.
Quality improvement offers AHPs opportunities to develop leadership, evidence use, multidisciplinary collaboration and better patient care. Use SAM's QI Hub to learn, plan, test and share improvement projects.
Learning, guidance and practical resources.
Explore SAM's AHP guidance and wider professional resources. Earlier publications remain available as useful references, with their dates clearly identified. Use them alongside current professional standards and locally approved practice.
Acute Medicine AHP Competencies
A comprehensive competency framework developed specifically for occupational therapists and physiotherapists working in Emergency Departments and Acute Medical Units. Covering clinical reasoning, assessment, interventions and multidisciplinary working, it provides a structured reference for professional development. Published in July 2017.
View AHP Competencies (PDF) ↗Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy in the AMU
Original SAM guidance on physiotherapy and occupational therapy within acute medical assessment services.
View guidance (PDF) ↗Occupational Therapy: Best Practice Guidelines
An established professional resource for occupational therapy in acute medical services, retained for reference.
Open guidelines ↗About these documents: The SAM AHP Competencies (2017) and AMU therapy guidance (2015) are historical publications. They have not been presented here as recently revised standards. Relevant contemporary guidance, professional regulation and local governance should take precedence where requirements differ.
Professional guidance across the UK.
AHP workforce and professional-development arrangements vary between the four nations. These national resources provide additional information alongside the profession-specific frameworks in the preceding career section.
Continue learning with SAM.
Move from written guidance to practical clinical education, including a free introductory AHP webinar and additional members-only sessions.
Webinars
Lynsey Alexander
Acute Kidney Injury
Lynsey Alexander
Interpreting results: NEWS/Bloods & what this means for AHPs
Lynsey Alexander & Vicky Price
Interpreting results: NEWS/Bloods & what this means (Extra Content)
Your professional community within SAM.
SAM is a multidisciplinary professional society. AHP perspectives matter in how we educate our workforce, develop acute medical services, share learning and shape the future of the specialty.
Learn and connect
Take part in SAM conferences, webinars and educational events. Connect with AHPs and colleagues across the acute medical community.
Explore SAM events →Improve acute care
Contribute to quality improvement, research, clinical pathways and service development. Share practical learning that colleagues can adapt.
Explore the Improvement Exchange →Support one another
Access SAM's wellbeing resources and join conversations about sustainable working, leadership and professional support.
Explore the Wellbeing Hub →Your expertise. Your voice. Your SAM.
Whether you're developing your acute medical career, contributing to education or leading service improvement, there is a place for AHPs within SAM.
Meet your AHP representative.
Lynsey Alexander
SAM Allied Health Professional RepresentativeMedical Assessment Unit
Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
Representing the AHP voice within Acute Medicine.
Lynsey is an occupational therapist who has worked in the Medical Assessment Unit at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh for more than ten years.
Her professional interests include frailty, palliative care and quality improvement. She has completed the Scottish Improvement Leadership Programme and contributed to projects to improve patient care.
“I learned quickly that there is a seat at the table for AHPs and our voice is very valued.”Lynsey reflecting on SAM Brighton
Get in touch.
Your ideas, questions and experiences matter.
Contact Lynsey and the SAM AHP team about professional practice, education, career development, quality improvement or getting involved with SAM.