Shaping Allied Health Together

Hosted by the Dorset General Practice Alliance CiC

Spring Membership Event 2026
11th March 2026 1-5pm
Cobham’s Sports & Social Club, Merley, BH21 3DA

6
SPEAKERS

GIFTS

5
TABLES

6
STANDS

Spring Membership Event for Allied Health Professionals

BOOK NOW to join us for an afternoon dedicated to you, our brilliant Allied Health Professionals.

Enjoy complimentary lunch & refreshments, connect with fellow professionals and be part of a growing network where your voice matters. Whether you're looking to share insights, explore challenges or simply meet like-minded peers, you’ll leave feeling more connected and supported.

Date: Wednesday 11th March 2026

Time: 1pm - 5pm

Venue: Cobham's Sports & Social Club

What to expect:

  • Inspiring speakers

  • Networking opportunities

  • Wellbeing stations

  • Topical CPD

"I truly believe that AHPs are integral in the change in the provision of healthcare, let's inspire each other!"

Liz Hoskinson, Allied Health Professional Lead at the Alliance

Book now to secure your place!

Welcome & Introductions

Dr Ben Sharland - Dorset General Practice Alliance Deputy Chair

Ben is the Deputy Chair for the Dorset General Practice Alliance, representing practices in the East. He remains a full-time GP partner in Bournemouth. He has held a number of roles within Dorset CCG supporting Primary Care development and currently chairs the Primary Care Strategy Implementation Group. He is also the Clinical Director for Central Bournemouth Primary Care network.

Speakers

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Dr Sarah Kay - GP Clinical Lead for Quality & Patient Safety, NHS Dorset

Dr Sarah Kay has worked for over four years as the GP Clinical Lead for Quality and Patient safety at NHS Dorset as part of the Patient Safety Team.

Her other portfolio roles include working as a retainer GP in Weymouth, GP appraiser, Medical Examiner for West Dorset, and as a Bank GP for Dorset Healthcare at Bridport Community Hospital. She also has done some freelance medical education work and previously had roles working in quality improvement, and health promotion. She has been based in Dorset since 2007.

Liz Hoskinson - Dorset General Practice Alliance Allied Health Professional Lead

Liz is a First Contact Practitioner Clinical Fellow for the Dorset Primary Care Training hub & Alliance Lead and has over 20 years’ experience in the NHS in Dorset. Most recently Liz has been working at the forefront of service delivery and strategy within intermediate and primary care settings and represents primary care with the Dorset Allied Health Professions Faculty and Dorset Allied Health Professions Council.

Damian Cranny - Fraud Protection Officer Dorset Police

Damian serves as Fraud Protect Officer for Dorset Police, where he leads community-wide initiatives to safeguard residents against fraud through innovative and accessible programmes. His work spans diverse community engagement projects.

 Damian also delivers specialised training to frontline professionals, including home carers, taxi drivers and utility company staff, equipping them to identify potential fraud victims and provide appropriate signposting to support services.

 His creative, multi-faceted approach ensures fraud prevention education reaches all sections of the community. Damian ensures that fraud protection education is accessible, engaging, and empowers people to learn how to protect themselves.

Suzanne Rastrick CBE, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, NHS England

Suzanne qualified as an Occupational Therapist from Oxford and was the first Allied Health Professional (AHP) to hold a substantive Director of Nursing post in both provider and commissioning organisations. She became the Chief Executive of a Primary Care Trust, where a particular highlight was having leadership responsibility for delivering health resilience and health ‘blue light’ services during the Olympic sailing events held in Dorset in 2012. She subsequently gained authorisation for a large Clinical Commissioning Group, before moving to her current post with NHS England.

Suzanne was appointed as Chief Allied Health Professions Officer for England in September 2014. In 2017 Suzanne launched the first AHP strategy for England which has been recognised as ground-breaking in policy development from its use of crowdsourcing. Building on this, Suzanne published the second AHP strategy – ‘AHPs Deliver’ in June 2022.  This iteration had a greater emphasis on patient, public voice and specifically the inclusion of those who may be digitally excluded along with communities who may find it difficult to connect with traditional consultation methods. The result is a national strategy crowdsourced from diverse populations for people and communities AHPs serve.

For over three decades, Suzanne has held non-executive portfolios outside of the NHS, including audit committee chair roles, predominantly in the housing and charitable sector. Suzanne was recognised as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s birthday honours list 2019. In 2026, Suzanne was recognised as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours List. In 2023 Suzanne was awarded a Visiting Professor role at St George’s, University of London and at Oxford Brookes University.

Follow Suzanne via the Office of the Chief AHP Officer LinkedIn account and subscribe to the Chief allied health professions bulletin.

Richard Daly - Clinical Librarian & Knowledge Specialist, University Hospitals Dorset

Richard is a Clinical Librarian and Knowledge Specialist based at Poole Hospital Library. With over twenty years’ experience across NHS and non-NHS libraries, as well as the private sector, he brings a broad range of expertise to supporting evidence-based practice and informed decision-making.

Steven Williams- Dorset General Practice Alliance Pharmacy Professional Lead

Steve is the senior clinical pharmacist at Poole Bay and Bournemouth Primary Care Network and has worked in the NHS as a medicines expert for 32 years, including in general practice, hospitals, universities and at NHS England. He will advocate for the fullest utilisation of pharmacy professionals and the need to optimise medicines for all patients, especially those with multiple chronic conditions and within our ever-ageing population

Joseph Griffiths-Bloor, Voice Coach

Joseph is a voice & dialect coach operating in the South West & the Midlands with a strong interest in accent for performance and spoken voice confidence for occupational voice users.
Joseph was trained at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under the direction of industry elite, and has since spent the last 5 years working alongside diverse talent as a freelancer and as a member of faculty at reputable performing arts institutions across the UK and Europe, as well as having a diverse private client base of professionals and other occupational voice users.

Programme

1pm – Arrival, lunch, and refreshments - Opportunity for networking

2pm – Welcome & Introductions - Dr Ben Sharland

2.05pm – The three shifts for the NHS: What is the role of the AHPs to make this happen?- Liz Hoskinson, Allied Health Professional Lead, Dorset General Practice Alliance

2.10pm - Keynote speech: Allied Health Professionals: Future ready for the 3 shifts - Suzanne Rastrick CBE, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, NHS England

2.30pm - Patient Safety: Updates from NHS Dorset on patient safety and processes  - Dr Sarah Kay GP Clinical lead for Quality and Patient Safety, NHS Dorset

2.40pm - Fraud Identification & Prevention – How to keep you and your patients safe & how to report- Damian Cranny, Fraud Protection Officer, Dorset Police

2.45pm - Library Services from UHD – Overview of what is available and how to access- Richard Daly, Clinical Librarian & Knowledge Specialist, University Hospitals Dorset

2.50pm - The Mechanics of Problematic Polypharmacy- Steve Williams, Pharmacy Lead, Dorset General Practice Alliance

3.20-3.35pm - Coffee Break and visit stands & self-care stations

3.35-4.15pm - Joseph Griffiths-Bloor - Lecturer in Voice and Accent/Dialect coach. Interactive hands-on session on how to amplify your voice at work and be heard!

4.15-4.45pm - Table Visits

  • Women’s Health Dorset: Chris Leadley, Clinical Specialist Pelvic Health Physiotherapist

  • INTs & Neighbourhood Health: Luna Hill, Head of Place (Dorset); Sarah Howard, Deputy Director of Modernisation & Place (Dorset); Damien Kendrick, Dorset Healthcare Locality Manager; Janine Ord, ; Jo Wilson, Population Health Strategic Lead

  • Ageing well: Everyone’s business: Sarah Paterson, AHP Rehabilitation Consultant, and Sue Bridge, Frailty ACP. 

  • Ask the GP: Bring along any questions about your treatment pathways or medical conditions, and ask a GP for advice.

  • Explaining Back Pain Without the Scan - Myths, Messages, and Management: Sam Simmonds, Consultant Spinal Physiotherapist (Dorset)

4.45pm - Reflections / Next Steps - Liz Hoskinson, Allied Health Professional, Dorset General Practice Alliance

4.55pm - FREE raffle & close – stay to the end to have a chance of winning prizes! - Dr Ben Sharland, Deputy Chair, Dorset General Practice Alliance

Thank you to LUSH, Sarunds & David LLoyd Poole for providing gifts for our AHPs!

Thank you to LUSH, Sarunds & David LLoyd Poole for providing gifts for our AHPs!

Stands

We encourage all attendees to consider sustainable travel options where possible.

Car sharing, using public transport, cycling, or walking can help reduce our environmental impact.

If you're driving, why not connect with colleagues to share a ride?

Every small step makes a difference!

Thank you for helping us make this event more eco-friendly. 🌍💚

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We Look Forward To Seeing You There