Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is proud to announce that its Allied Health Professionals in Mental Health Services team has won the Workforce Transformation Award at the prestigious Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO) Awards 2025, presented by the Workforce, Training & Education Directorate at NHS England.
This award recognises the team’s innovative approach to redesigning mental health services to improve outcomes for service-users, enhance staff experience, and deliver financial efficiencies.
The project focused on:
• Continuity of care: Assigning a single Allied Health Professional (AHP) to support each service-user throughout their recovery journey, eliminating repeat assessments and saving approximately £600 per admission-and-return.
• Collaborative redesign: Engaging service-users, students, clinicians, and managers in shaping the new model of care.
• Targeted workforce development: Creating specialist roles based on population needs and delivering 100% of student placements.
• Career progression: Establishing a clear pathway from support worker to registered professional, including apprenticeships and within-role development.
Despite operating within a reducing budget, the team successfully improved service-user experience, streamlined processes, and strengthened the AHP workforce.
Toni King, Consultant Occupational Therapist and AHP and DBT Lead for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This has been a whole-team project, over a long period of time and we have been quietly pleased with our results. Having recognition especially at this level is amazing – so happy for the team. And we will be pleased to be able to share our learning wider”.