Understanding the Recruitment Landscape for Allied Health Professionals
At iGo Recruitment, we pride ourselves on being experts in the recruitment landscape, keeping our finger on the pulse with changes to the availability of clinical talent, and reporting back to our clients in the health sector about possible impacts. Our latest research into the availability of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in the UK provides valuable insights for hiring managers and stakeholders. We utilise key statistics directly from the registration bodies responsible for monitoring, and regulating Clinicians in the UK and our in house (human not a robot!) team for analysis and interpretation.
Availability of AHPs
The numbers of Physiotherapists (PH), Paramedics (PA), and Occupational Therapists (OT) on the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) register are gradually rising, continuing a long trend of steady growth, however, Q2 2024 saw a brief dip in the % increase of Physiotherapists. Despite this fluctuation, there has been no significant reduction in the total number registrations of AHPs.
Over the period, the UK general population grew by 0.22%. However, the registers of Occupational Therapists (OT), Paramedics (PA), and Physiotherapists (PH) grew as follows:
- Occupational Therapists (OT): + 4.86%
- Paramedics (PA): + 6.94%
- Physiotherapists (PH): + 2.31%
Trends in Paramedic job responsibilities
In line with the NHS Long Term plan (LTP), Paramedics are increasingly progressing into higher acuity primary care roles such as Emergency Care Practitioners (ECP) and Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACP) in urgent and unscheduled settings like A&E and Walk-in Centres (WIC).
Anticipated medium-term NHS headcount changes
iGo Recruitment keep our ear out for insight into future changes, we are hearing of budgetary pressures likely to lead to a reduction in total employed headcount within certain NHS trusts to pre 2019 levels. Although challenging to understand, the NHS is indeed reported to be reducing its headcount in 2025 due to budgetary constraints. This may lead to a greater uptake of long-term contracted staff, a resurgence of long term temp staffing solutions and non-replacement of headcount losses due to attrition, as reported by NHS workforce managers to iGo Recruitment.
Private Sector and NHS Overseas Recruitment
In the recent 6 months iGo Recruitment has supported private sector clients in their continued need for attracting talented clinicians from non-red list countries, including India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, through ethical recruitment practices. This programme requires specialist support owing to the onboarding and relocation for specialist clinicians pursue within UK health and social care settings.
Stay tuned for more updates and insights from iGo Recruitment. We look forward to partnering with you to achieve your recruitment goals.
For the full white paper, data and market update for all clinicians registered with the HCPC, or for information about our recruitment services and how we can help you, please visit our website and contact the iGo Recruitment team today via the Contact Us page.