Allied health professions (AHP) learning site

Allied Health Professions: art therapists, dramatherapists, music therapists, podiatrists, dietitians, occupational therapists, prosthetists and orthotists, paramedics, orthoptists, physiotherapists, diagnostic radiographers, therapeutic radiographers, speech and language therapists.

Celebrating 25 years of AHP impact

AHPs Day 2026 marks a significant milestone: a quarter century of AHP progress and contribution in Scotland. The theme, 25 Years of AHP Impact, Shaping the Future, is explored through four connected strands: celebrate, inspire, appreciate and connect. It creates space to recognise the development of the professions, showcase their influence across services and consider how AHP practice can continue to respond to changing population and service needs. 

The anniversary also highlights the distinctive contribution AHPs make across the whole care pathway - from prevention and early support to rehabilitation and longer-term management. Their specialist knowledge and broad reach help improve access, experience and outcomes in a wide range of settings.

AHPs Day provides a platform to make this work more visible. Sharing achievements, new approaches and examples from practice helps illustrate the diversity of AHP roles, from support workers to consultants, and the value they add across health, social care, education and community services.

Supporting the AHP workforce

PSD Scotland contributes by creating the conditions in which AHP learning and development can flourish. Our work supports workforce transformation and continuing professional development, helping the professions remain equipped for emerging priorities.

We encourage individuals, teams and services to take part in AHPs Day by celebrating achievements, sharing stories and highlighting how AHPs contribute to quality and safety every day.

How you can get involved

A range of resources (Resources to support national AHPs day | Turas | Learn) is available to support local activities and events.

We look forward to connecting with you through our:

PSD Scotland LinkedIn https://Public Services Delivery Scotland Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions: Posts | LinkedIn

Facebook channel https://www.facebook.com/share/1Eh6KPaSkp/?mibextid=wwXIfr.

To mark AHPs Day 2026, Diane Dickson, Associate Director, PSD Scotland, has also recorded a short video message reflecting on the contribution and impact of AHPs across Scotland. 

Happy AHPs Day 2026. Together, let's celebrate 25 years of achievement and continue building a strong future for AHPs across Scotland.

Key Themes: Celebrate, Appreciate, Inspire, Connect

The four themes of AHPs Day continue to be: 

Celebrating who we are as allied health professionals, the people we work with and the impact we can make every day. Why not have a virtual get together to share and celebrate all your successes - you choose how! #celebrate 

Appreciating our skills and impact on care and support in our local communities is important. Do you have local stories to share? Maybe you will be hosting AHP appreciation awards? We know relationships and people are at the heart of everything we do, why not use the day to day to just say thank you, reflect on how we look after our own health and wellbeing and the people we work with. #appreciate 

Inspiring our future workforce and ensuring we can continue to grow an AHP workforce fit for the future is everyone's responsibility. Why not use this theme to support people looking into a career as an AHP, a career of choice. You could share how you are inspiring our future workforce or maybe how you are offering new and innovative models of practice placements #inspire 

Connecting with others. What relationships and conversations do you need to be engaging in to plug AHPs into workforce transformation and pathway redesign in your system? How are you connecting research with clinical practice? How are you sharing success and joining the dots on quality improvement and local and national policies? How are you connecting across the system on the shared ambition and aspiration of Scotland’s National Performance Framework? #connect 

On the day, remember #AHPDayScot is a social movement - there are no must do's, only can do's! Watch our for activity on social media – NMAHP LinkedIn, Dementia and information from our colleagues at #AHPScotBlog. AHPs across health and social care. (wordpress.com)

The important thing is to share it with others using the hashtags #AHPDayScot26, #AHPDayScot, #AHPScot on social media.