Physiotherapy Pillar

Welcome to the Allied Health Professional (AHP) Critical Care Professional Development Framework (CCPDF) – Supplementary resource for Physiotherapists. This document is designed to be used in conjunction with the AHP CCPDF. It provides worked examples of the CCPDF from physiotherapists in a variety of posts within critical care across the United Kingdom (UK), and aims to provide tangible examples of how the CCPDF has been used to support professional development in practice. As with the AHP CCPDF itself these are intended to be descriptive, not prescriptive.

Physiotherapy is one of the most well-established of the multi-professional groups working within critical care. The roles undertaken by physiotherapists in critical care vary significantly between organisations, regions, and UK-nations. Although this provides an inevitable challenge for workforce planning this role-diversity is one of the profession’s key strengths; in both its breadth of contribution to critica care services and in attracting those newly qualified to the speciality. The examples provided in this document celebrate the professional flexibility of physiotherapists, and the innovation and creativity of the workforce across the NHS. Considered application of the CCPDF in practice is designed to support the development of a breadth of skills within local teams, robust responses to service demands, and develop professional leaders in local, national, and international forums, while recognising and fostering an individual’s area of interest.