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Allied health profession disciplines
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Last modified date:3 August 2007
The AHPF provides collective leadership on issues of commonality that impacts on its member professions. The Federation also promotes inter-professional working to enable the allied health professions to provide high quality care for patients and their carers.
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Art therapists
Art therapists provide a psychotherapeutic intervention which enables clients to effect change and growth by the use of art materials to gain insight and promote the resolution of difficulties.
Drama therapists
Drama therapists encourage clients to experience their physicality, to develop an ability to express the whole range of their emotions and to increase their insight and knowledge of themselves and others.
Music therapists
Music therapists facilitate interaction and development of insight into clients' behaviour and emotional difficulties through music.
Chiropodists/podiatrists
Chiropodists/podiatrists diagnose and treat abnormalities of the foot. They give professional advice on prevention of foot problems and on proper care of the foot.
Dietitians
Dietitians translate the science of nutrition into practical information about food. They work with people to promote nutritional well being, prevent food-related problems and treat disease.
Occupational therapists
Occupational therapists assess, rehabilitate and treat people using purposeful activity and occupation to prevent disability and promote health and independent function.
Orthoptists
Orthoptists diagnose and treat eye movement disorders and defects of binocular vision.
Orthotists
Orthotists design and fit orthoses (callipers, braces) which provide support to a part of a patient's body to compensate for paralysed muscles, provide relief from pain or prevent physical deformities from progressing.
Prosthetists
Prosthetists provide care and advice on rehabilitation for patients who were born without a limb, fitting the best possible artificial replacement.
Paramedics
Paramedics provide pre-hospital patient care including some invasive clinical techniques such as intubations and infusion. They also administer some drugs to patients in emergency conditions.
Physiotherapists
Physiotherapists assess and treat people with physical problems caused by accident, ageing, disease or disability, by using physical approaches in the alleviation of all aspects of the person's condition.
Diagnostic radiographers
Diagnostic radiographers produce high quality images on film and other recording media, using all kinds of radiations.
Therapeutic radiographers
Therapeutic radiographers treat mainly cancer patients, using ionising radiations and sometimes, drugs. They provide care across the entire spectrum of cancer services.
Speech and language therapists
Speech and language therapists work with people with communication and/or swallowing difficulties.
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