Allied Health Sciences

We provide teaching and learning for a range of health service careers, many of which are regulated by the Health Professions Council (HPC). The School has 4 main areas of academic activity namely Audiology, Biomedical Science, Clinical Physiology and Technology, and Speech and Language Therapy. The School of Allied Health Sciences has over 40 members of academic staff who provide education and training for our students, and a majority of staff are also engaged in research and scholarly activity in a range of areas mainly related to their professional roles. We offer programmes from foundation degree level through to professional doctorate. Members of staff are highly qualified with many having professional experience in a clinical setting. For details of research activity please consult the research section of the main Faculty website.

The Audiology programme is funded by the East Midlands Healthcare Workforce Deanery (EMHWD). Teaching is provided by academic staff and hospital-based specialists. There is a state of the art sound laboratory, and also strong links with Leicester Royal Infirmary for teaching and research. Clinical placements are at locations across the region and include a year-long placement in Year 3 during which time the student is paid a salary. This course is accredited by the British Academy of Audiology (BAA).

Biomedical Science provides students with a number of career opportunities, and has been successful in attracting East Midlands Healthcare Workforce Deanery (EMHWD) funding to award training allowance to enable some students to qualify on a co-terminus pathway, thus achieving an Honours degree as well as professional registration with the HPC, and the Institute of Biomedical Science. This course is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS).

Clinical Physiology is a part-time route for hospital-based staff to enable professional qualifications to be obtained in a variety of disciplines, including Cardiology, Respiratory Physiology, Neurophysiology and Gastrointestinal Physiology. This course is accredited by the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists (RCCP).

Medical Sciences gives an exceptionally well rounded introduction to all aspects of human physiology, anatomy and disease. Basic sciences, pathophysiology, pathology, therapeutics, ethics and health informatics are all areas covered by this programme. From 2009 this programme offers a route into training to be a Healthcare Scientist in the NHS in accordance with the Dept. Of Health “Modernising Scientific Careers” agenda.

The Speech and Language Therapy programme provides a very popular career possibility for students combining a wide ranging scientific education including relevant science, technology, linguistics, psychology, and personal and professional development with clinical training. Almost 100% of graduates are successful in entering employment in the profession. This programme benefits from a state of the art computer-based language teaching laboratory for speech processing, anatomy, physiology and clinical case demonstrations, and clinical placements in a variety of settings. The majority of places are sponsored by the East Midlands Healthcare Workforce Deanery (EMHWD). Graduates are entitled to become registered members of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT).