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When you come into hospital, you might expect to see a doctor or nurse but they aren’t the only professionals involved in your care. Thousands of other staff work alongside them, each with their own specialist skills. 

They are called Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and we have more than 600 working across our hospitals, including physiotherapists, radiographers, dietitians and speech and language therapists. 

They help people in many different ways, from carrying out tests and scans and treating cancer to helping someone walk again or regain their independence. 

For AHP Day, on Wednesday 14 October, we’re introducing you to some of the people behind these roles and showing how they help our patients every day. 

When Leila Miremadi tells people she is a dietitian, she often gets the same response. 

“Can you help me lose weight?!”  

She then has to tell them that she is a paediatric dietitian, caring for babies and young children who have complex feeding and nutritional needs. 

Some babies are born so prematurely that their gut is not yet ready to be fed normally. 

Leila said:

The parents are going through the toughest of times, so we need to support them as well as looking after the babies.

One family in particular has stayed with her. Their baby had a difficult start to life and the mother nearly died during the birth. Understandably, she was extremely anxious about every single change in her baby. Leila and her colleagues spent time explaining what was happening and supporting the mother as she learned to breastfeed. 

She felt that she wasn’t good enough to do it. We supported her, showed her how to do it and helped her learn day by day. Even a little change in the baby was progress.

When you see how they’re bonding with the parents and then they start getting a bit of reaction from the babies, it’s very rewarding.

Eventually, the baby was fully breastfed, feeding orally and growing well enough to go home. 

More than a third of our AHPs work in imaging and radiotherapy, helping diagnose and treat patients. One of them is Roddy Witele, a senior therapeutic radiographer at Queen’s Hospital. 

He helps to treat people with cancer using radiotherapy. Some patients come to hospital every weekday for several weeks to receive their treatment. 

His role is also about supporting people through what can be an incredibly difficult time. Roddy often meets patients when they are having their first treatment and may be feeling anxious or uncertain about what will happen. He takes time to listen and reassure them. 

For people with head and neck cancer, treatment can make eating, drinking and speaking much more difficult. He works with speech and language therapists and dietitians to make sure patients receive the right support. 

He said:

It can be quite emotional at times, because these cancer patients are going through a lot. The first time patients arrive, they can be quite anxious.

But it’s all about understanding what they’re going through and being able to put yourself in their shoes and helping to reassure them.

Olga Formalnova is a speech and language therapist who works with patients with neurological conditions, head and neck cancer and those receiving critical care. 

She helps patients eat and drink safely, using specialist assessments to understand how they are swallowing. 

She also helps people who are struggling to communicate. This can help them express their needs and make decisions. 

Olga said:

I really like connecting with people. Being able to help someone eat and drink safely, communicate their wishes or have a voice when they’re struggling to express themselves is really rewarding.

Occupational therapist Ylyn Villanueva works with older patients, helping them to regain the skills and confidence they need to manage everyday life after becoming unwell. 

This could mean helping someone wash and dress themselves, prepare food, move around their home safely or use equipment that makes everyday tasks easier. 

Ylyn looks at what someone could do before they became unwell and what they can do now.  

She then works with them to reach their own goals and, if needed, helps arrange equipment or support for when they leave hospital. 

For Ylyn, success is seeing someone return home and get back to doing the things that matter to them. 

She said:

We treat patients across their lifespan, and just because someone is older doesn’t mean they don’t have goals.

Seeing someone go home and get back to doing the things that matter to them is one of the most rewarding parts of my role.