Background to Preceptorship

Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and Health Care Support Workers (HCSW) are integral to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care across Scotland's healthcare system. AHPs collectively make up the third largest workforce in the NHS, working across all sectors related to health and wellbeing including but not limited to health, social care, education, justice, voluntary sector, housing, academia, business and private practice.

In 2023, the HCPC published a report on retention within the AHP workforce, partly informing the development of the HCPC Principles for Preceptorship. The report highlighted a deregistration rate of 5.7% among new registrants within four years, with variations across professions, and noted that high quality preceptorship is essential to assist service delivery and has been proven to improve retention rates⁴.

Scoping exercises have been undertaken by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to establish the current landscape of preceptorship in Scotland and gather areas of good practice whilst identifying any barriers to embedding preceptorship in the workplace. One finding highlighted that much of the current preceptorship focus is on Newly Qualified Practitioners (NQPs) and does not always encompass the wider transitioning groups identified in the HCPC definition⁵. A NES scoping exercise relating to International Recruitment concluded that it is necessary to utilise preceptorship principles in the transition period to appropriately support internationally educated AHPs integration and learning⁶.

While there are existing frameworks across the U.K, none are specifically tailored to the needs and challenges of AHPs working within the Scottish healthcare context. This AHP Preceptorship document addresses this gap by providing supportive, best practice guidance for staff and organisations engaging in Preceptorship in Scotland. It outlines key roles and responsibilities, enabling organisations to embed preceptorship into their culture. This helps all AHPs and HCSWs receive the support they need to thrive in their professional development and contribute to the delivery of high-quality care.