University Partners in £4.5million Project to Enhance Healthcare in Rural, Coastal, and Disadvantaged Areas

The five-year Allied Health Professions Workforce Research Partnership seeks to enhance patient care by ensuring that allied health professionals – such as paramedics, physiotherapists, and radiographers – possess the right skills and are available where and when they are needed most within NHS hospitals, community services, and general practice.

After nurses and doctors, allied health professionals form the third-largest workforce in the NHS, offering specialised emergency, diagnostic, and therapeutic services from birth through end-of-life care.

The project, led by Professor Julie Nightingale from Sheffield Hallam University, involves strategic collaboration with multiple partners, including the University of Lincoln, Anglia Ruskin University, University of Sheffield, University of Suffolk, University of Leeds, and NHS East of England.

Researchers will collaborate in three regional hubs based in Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire and the East of England to test new ways to address staffing problems in these areas and help them to best meet the needs of patients.

The project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and will bring together researchers and NHS partners as well as patient and staff groups to jointly design new ways of working that will improve patient care and recruitment, retention and job satisfaction.

Professor Kate Grafton, Professor of Allied Health Professions Education at the University of Lincoln, said: “This research will enable us to better understand the unique challenges associated with attracting and retaining allied health professional staff in rural and coastal regions. Allied health profession staff are essential to provide health care services close to where people need them.

“Patient and public involvement is crucial to this research, ensuring solutions reflect community needs and experiences. This collaborative approach will yield insights into service perception and utilisation in rural and coastal areas. This work aims to advance equitable healthcare access regardless of location. Findings will inform policies and interventions supporting allied health professionals in these communities”.

Professor Julie Nightingale, from Sheffield Hallam’s School of Health and Social Care, added: “There is a shortage of staff in allied health professions, which has a negative impact on patient care and leads to increased waiting times. It means some people can’t get scans, cancer treatment and rehab when they need it.

“These shortages also affect the working conditions and well-being of staff which may make them want to leave the NHS. Shortages are worse in rural areas, coastal places, and less well-off communities where it is difficult to attract and retain staff.

“It is vital that we carry out this research to understand this issue so we can support the NHS to help address the staffing crisis and improve patient care and experience.”