Innovation, exploration and a whole lot of learning through an online programme of Allied Health Professional development

This account of practice gives an overview and insight into the learning from a co-designed leadership development programme for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) across two NHS Integrated Care Systems. The AHP community that completed the courses consisted of acute and community trust, mental health, local authority, and SCAS (paramedics) working in the healthcare system across the full range of AHP roles during the Covid-19 pandemic. Working in partnership the programme was co-designed, engaging participants in the design process before and throughout the delivery of the programme. The entire programme was delivered online to a cohort of forty-two AHPs who had volunteered to be participants. The overarching aim of the programme was to support AHPs and promote their career progression through developing confidence and capability in their leadership practice. by meeting the following objectives: (1) developing and enriching understanding, and practice, of systemic leadership; (2) developing Keats’ concept of ‘negative capability’ (Ou 2009 Ou, L. 2009. Keats and Negative Capability. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. [Google Scholar]) – creativity and action in the midst of uncertainty and ambiguity; (3) strengthening voice, confidence, and influence, as a valued leader in the system. A set of quantitative evaluation criteria were collectively agreed and these were run before and after the programme. Further to this several qualitative questions were asked before the programme to inform its design and post-programme to deepen insight into the process and experience of participants. This was very helpful in learning from the experience and in informing future work of this nature. The programme was designed utilising an innovative delivery method using techniques and approaches that had been developed through the Covid-19 pandemic with face-to-face delivery being unavailable. The aspiration was to work in depth with a medium-sized cohort as a community of learning and leadership practice.