Transforming Roles paper

Development of Allied Health Professions (AHP) Advanced Practice in Scotland

A recent scoping report (NES, 2024) explored what support is available for AHP advanced practice roles in Scotland.  It found encouraging progress, with NHS Boards supporting the development and implementation of these roles in several ways including:

• AHP advanced practice lead roles to provide strategic oversight of role development
• Local workforce policies and strategies to embed roles
• Use of metrics to demonstrate impact of advanced practice roles
• Creation of local advanced practice support networks

However, the report also identified several challenges.  These included the absence of a national definition of AHP advanced practice, wide variation in job titles and limitations in workforce data. The report also noted a lack of a systematic approach to developing advanced practice roles through education frameworks and career pathways and to evaluating their impact. In addition, many practitioners and Service Leads were not aware of national resources such as the NES Multiprofessional Advanced Practice Toolkit (NES, 2025a) and the Advanced Practice Academies (NES, 2025b). 

Commission to Support the Development of AHP Advanced Practice

In response, the Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education for Scotland (NES), in partnership with the Scottish Directors of AHPs, to support the development of AHP advanced practice across Scotland’s 14 AHP professions. Key objectives included:

• Collaborating with stakeholders to establish a consistent national definition and nomenclature for AHP Advanced Practice 
• Developing an AHP-specific Transforming Roles paper to provide clear direction for advancing practice  
• Establishing robust oversight processes for developing knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSB) frameworks in priority areas of AHP practice.

Engaging with Stakeholders and the AHP Community

The success of the Commission depended upon robust evidence and strong collaboration and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including employers, professional bodies, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), education providers and the wider AHP Community.

This engagement helped ensure that the work was evidence-informed, credible and relevant across professions and practice settings. 

Key Areas of Progress

1. A national definition of AHP advanced practice, aligned with the UK-wide statement by the four Chief AHP Officers (CAHPO), has been established. 
   To ensure a consistent and shared understanding across Scotland, it is recommended that:
   • The national definition should be formally embedded into workforce planning.
   • All AHP advanced practice roles should be mapped against it to demonstrate how they meet the expectations outlined by the CAHPOs.
      
2. The recommended national job title format is:
   Advanced Practice [name of AHP profession]with the option to include the clinical specialty e.g. [Advanced Practice Radiographer in Musculoskeletal Reporting; Advanced Practice Therapeutic Radiographer in Brachytherapy]. 
   
   This format clearly identifies the level of practice, uses the protected professional title from the HCPC register and has been endorsed by the Scottish Directors of AHPs.  To ensure consistency across Scotland, it is recommended that:

• The national job title format should be adopted for all new roles. 
• All roles currently titled ‘advanced’ should be reviewed however the decision whether to align existing titles is the responsibility of individual employers. 

3.  Transforming Roles Paper 09: Allied Health Professions Advanced Practicehas been published and provides clear national direction for the development of AHP advanced practice roles in Scotland. It consolidates guidance on:Integrated workforce planning and transformation

• Regulation and clinical governance arrangements
• Education and training pathways, supported by clinical supervision
• Measurement of impact in a range of areas including patient and service outcomes
• Practical action employers can take to progress AHP advanced practice 
  
  Transforming Roles Paper 09 was launched during Advanced Practice Week at a national webinar on 13^th November 2025. Further webinars are planned to support implementation.

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Next Steps

The next phase of the Commission will focus on supporting implementation of the guidance and gathering feedback on the use of Transforming Roles Paper 09.   Additionally, NES will be supporting the use of AHP advanced practice trainee roles through development of advanced practice pathways using KSB and educational frameworks in two areas of AHP practice.
 

Profession-specific content

The Society and College of Radiographers provide guidance on a wide variety of subjects to support advancing practice for radiographers:

• Education and Career Framework for the Radiography Workforce Fourth Edition
• Education and Career Framework (ECF) by Case Study
• Supporting Advancing Practice for Radiographers: ECF Framework
• Education and Career Framework Practitioner Mapping Tool: Enhanced Level Knowledge, Skills and Attr | SoR
• Education and Career Framework Practitioner Mapping Tool: Advanced Level Knowledge, Skills and Attr | SoR
• Education and Career Framework Practitioner Mapping Tool: Consultant Level Knowledge, Skills and At | SoR
• Guidance on scope of practice for advanced practitioners and consultant practitioners 2025
• SoR and BMUS Guidelines for Professional Ultrasound Practice (2025)
• A framework for advancing sonographer roles in early pregnancy
• Analysis of sonographer practice in N. Ireland in relation to the Advanced Practice Framework and practice in the UK
• Scope of Practice 2025
• Workforce and Education Needs: Scoping the Enhanced, Advanced and Radiography Consultant Challenges and Opportunities (WE-SEARCH)
• Advancing Practice in Radiography Special Interest Group
• Palliative care – Advanced & Consultant Therapeutic Radiographers
• Current Special Interest Groups and Communities of Practice
   

Further information can be found in the policy and document library at:  

 Documents and publications | SoR

References

1. NHS Education for Scotland (2020). Transforming NMAHP roles. Available at: Transforming NMAHP roles | NHS Education for Scotland [Accessed 16 December 2025].
2. NHS Education for Scotland (2024). Scoping of AHP Advanced Practice in Scotland.  Available at: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/85313/advanced-practice-toolkit/introduction-to-advanced-practice/advanced-practice-roles/advanced-practice-in-the-allied-health-professions-ahps/ahp-advanced-practice/scoping-of-ahp-advanced-practice-in-scotland  [Accessed 16 December 2025].
3. NHS Education for Scotland (2025a). Advanced practice toolkit. Available at: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/63343/advanced-practice-toolkit  [Accessed 16 December 2025].
4. NHS Education for Scotland (2025b). What are the advanced practice academies?
5. Available from: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/67632  [Accessed 16 December 2025].
6. Scottish Government (2023). Allied Health Professions Education and Workforce Policy Review Recommendations.  Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/allied-health-professions-education-workforce-policy-review-recommendations/ [Accessed 16 December 2025].