🏥 Inclusion Needs Infrastructure

Health and Care Campaign — England

💜 Visible Needs. Hidden Needs. Lifelong Inclusion.

Building Better Understanding, Practical Experience and Meaningful Inclusion Across Health and Care

The Inclusion Needs Infrastructure Campaign advocates for stronger, more consistent and practically relevant inclusion education, supervised experience and professional support across healthcare, mental health, psychological services, maternity care, children's services, disability support and social care.

Inclusion is not limited to a particular diagnosis, disability, age group or specialist department.

Health and care professionals encounter individuals with a wide range of visible and hidden additional needs throughout their careers.

These may include:

• Autism, ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence.

• Learning disabilities and learning difficulties.

• Physical disabilities, mobility differences and accessibility needs.

• Sight, hearing and other sensory impairments.

• Sensory processing differences and sensitivities.

• Speech, language and communication differences.

• Mental health difficulties, psychological distress and trauma-related needs.

• Severe anxiety, overwhelming fear and difficulties managing unfamiliar situations.

• Dementia, cognitive changes and memory difficulties.

• Long-term health conditions, chronic pain and fluctuating disabilities.

• Developmental differences and additional support needs affecting children and young people.

• Complex or multiple needs requiring individualised or multidisciplinary support.

These needs may be present from birth, develop during childhood, emerge in adulthood, fluctuate over time or arise following illness, injury or ageing.

Some individuals may have a formal diagnosis. Others may experience significant support needs without one.

Our campaign recognises that an individual's need for understanding, dignity, accessibility and appropriate support does not depend solely upon whether their difficulties are immediately visible or formally diagnosed.

We also recognise that not every difference, condition or difficulty constitutes a disability under equality legislation. The nature of the support required, and any applicable legal duties, will depend upon the individual's circumstances.

Our campaign advocates for accessible, respectful and person-centred health and care services throughout the lifespan.

🎓 Recognising Existing Health and Care Education Requirements

The Inclusion Needs Infrastructure Campaign recognises that relevant healthcare and social care qualifications in England already include professional requirements relating to equality, diversity, disability, communication, safeguarding and person-centred practice.

Professional regulators establish standards that approved education and training programmes must meet.

These include:

Professional regulatorRelevant professionsExisting educational expectationsNursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)Nurses, midwives and nursing associatesProfessional accountability, person-centred care, communication, equality, safeguarding and appropriate practical competence.General Medical Council (GMC)DoctorsPatient-centred practice, clinical communication, professionalism, assessment, equality and appropriate responses to individual needs.Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)Paramedics, practitioner psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists and other regulated professionsEquality, diversity, inclusion, communication, reasonable adjustments and profession-specific competence.General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)Pharmacists and pharmacy techniciansPerson-centred care, communication, equality, diversity, professional responsibilities and safe medicines-related practice.Social Work EnglandSocial workers in EnglandEquality, diversity, human rights, safeguarding, communication, professional judgement and practice-based learning.

The precise requirements differ between professions and qualification pathways.

Relevant official standards include the NMC's nursing and midwifery programme standards, the HCPC's profession-specific proficiency standards and the GPhC's initial education and training standards.

💜 What Does This Mean for Our Campaign?

Our campaign does not suggest that inclusion education or practical training is absent from existing professional qualifications.

Many regulated health and care professions already require substantial supervised practical learning.

For example, current NMC pre-registration nursing programme standards require at least 4,600 hours of education and training, including 2,300 practice-learning hours, of which up to 600 may be simulated. The NMC consulted in 2026 on possible changes, so proposals for future requirements must be distinguished from standards currently in force.

However, national professional standards do not necessarily prescribe identical teaching modules, placement experiences or inclusion-focused learning activities across every approved education programme.

Our campaign therefore seeks to investigate whether the depth, consistency, practical application and assessment of existing inclusion education adequately prepare professionals to recognise and respond to the diversity of additional needs they may encounter.

We are particularly interested in understanding whether learners receive meaningful opportunities to develop practical experience supporting individuals with additional needs, including needs they may encounter outside their usual professional specialism.

This includes exploring:

• Whether inclusion education is sufficiently comprehensive and practically relevant.

• Whether learners experience a meaningful range of visible and hidden additional needs.

• Whether practical learning includes appropriate supervision, reflection and assessment.

• Whether professionals feel adequately prepared to recognise communication, sensory, cognitive, emotional and physical support needs.

• Whether existing training consistently prepares professionals to identify and implement appropriate adjustments.

• Whether opportunities for specialist advice and continuing professional development are accessible throughout professional careers.

Our aim is to identify potential gaps, understand workforce experiences and advocate for proportionate, evidence-informed improvements, rather than assume that current arrangements are universally inadequate.

🏥 Who Does Our Health and Care Campaign Include?

The campaign recognises that people with additional needs access a wide range of health and care services throughout their lives.

Inclusive practice should not be confined to specialist disability or neurodevelopmental departments.

A healthcare professional does not need to work in a specialist service to encounter someone who requires additional understanding, communication support or reasonable adjustments.

Our campaign therefore encompasses the following areas.

🏥 General Healthcare and Hospital Services

Including general hospitals, outpatient departments, GP surgeries, primary care, accident and emergency departments, urgent treatment centres, diagnostic and imaging services, surgical departments, dental care and community healthcare.

Individuals accessing these services may experience communication difficulties, sensory sensitivities, anxiety, cognitive differences or physical accessibility barriers.

For example, a patient attending an MRI appointment may require additional preparation because of sensory sensitivities or overwhelming fear.

Another patient may need accessible written information, communication support or adjustments to the appointment environment.

💜 Our Focus

To encourage healthcare professionals to recognise individual support needs and understand how appropriate adjustments can improve accessibility, communication and patient experience.

🤰 Maternity, Obstetric and Perinatal Services

Including antenatal clinics, ultrasound departments, pregnancy assessment services, labour and delivery units, obstetric services, postnatal wards, community midwifery, health visiting and perinatal mental health services.

Maternity professionals may encounter neurodivergent mothers, fathers, partners and birth supporters, alongside individuals with physical disabilities, mental health difficulties, sensory impairments or other additional needs.

An autistic expectant mother may experience sensory sensitivities during examinations or labour.

A mother with ADHD may benefit from clearly structured information or accessible appointment arrangements.

A parent experiencing severe anxiety may need additional preparation, reassurance or communication support.

A father, partner or birth supporter may also have sensory, communication or accessibility needs that affect their participation in maternity services.

These are examples of possible individual requirements, not assumptions about everyone with a particular diagnosis.

Existing midwifery standards already emphasise individualised care, communication, informed decision-making and the needs of women and families.

The campaign advocates for greater practical understanding of:

• Accessible antenatal and postnatal communication.

• Sensory sensitivities during examinations, labour and delivery.

• Individual information-processing and communication preferences.

• Anxiety, distress and responses to unexpected changes.

• Respect for informed consent, bodily autonomy and individual preferences.

• Appropriate consideration of partners' and birth supporters' additional needs.

• Co-occurring mental health and neurodevelopmental needs.

The mother's rights, autonomy and informed choices must remain central to her maternity care.

💜 Our Focus

To support accessible, respectful and person-centred maternity care that recognises the individual needs of expectant and new parents and their families.

🧠 Mental Health and Psychiatric Services

Including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), adult mental health services, older adult mental health services, psychiatric inpatient services, community mental health teams, crisis services and relevant psychological therapies.

Individuals accessing mental health services may also have autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, sensory processing differences, communication difficulties or physical health conditions.

These additional needs may influence how individuals communicate distress, engage with assessments, experience clinical environments or access treatment.

A mental health diagnosis should not automatically be assumed to explain every difficulty an individual experiences.

💜 Our Focus

To encourage accessible, trauma-informed and person-centred mental healthcare that recognises co-occurring needs and supports appropriate individual adjustments.

💭 Psychology and Psychological Assessment Services

Including clinical psychology, counselling psychology, neuropsychology, health psychology, psychological assessment services and relevant therapeutic provision.

Psychological assessment and therapy may require adjustments to communication, appointment structures, sensory environments or methods of gathering information.

Some individuals may experience difficulties identifying or describing emotions, processing abstract questions, understanding complex information or communicating distress.

These differences should be considered appropriately without making assumptions about an individual's abilities or experiences.

💜 Our Focus

To encourage psychological professionals to recognise how additional needs may influence assessment and therapeutic engagement, while maintaining appropriate clinical and professional standards.

🧩 Neurodevelopmental and Learning Disability Services

Including autism and ADHD assessment services, neurodevelopmental teams, learning disability healthcare services and specialist community support.

Although these services specialise in particular areas, individuals may experience multiple or overlapping needs.

An autistic individual may also have a physical disability, learning disability, sensory impairment or mental health difficulty.

Similarly, someone with a learning disability may require support unrelated to their cognitive abilities.

💜 Our Focus

To promote individualised understanding that recognises the whole person rather than reducing their needs to a single diagnosis.

👶 Children's Health, Disability and Additional Support Services

Including community paediatrics, children's hospitals, child development centres, children's disability services, specialist nursing, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and multidisciplinary support.

Children and young people may experience communication, sensory, developmental, emotional, cognitive or physical support needs.

Some may require coordinated support across education, health and social care.

In England, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is commonly used when discussing education-related support. However, not every child with a health or social care need will have SEND, and not every child with SEND will require the same health or care services.

The campaign therefore uses the broader description:

Children and young people with disabilities, developmental differences, special educational needs and other health or care support requirements.

💜 Our Focus

To promote accessible, developmentally appropriate and individualised care for children and young people, recognising the importance of communication, safeguarding, family involvement and multidisciplinary working.

👵 Dementia, Memory and Older People's Services

Including memory clinics, dementia assessment services, older adult mental health services, residential care, nursing homes, community older people's services and specialist dementia support.

Individuals living with dementia or other cognitive changes may experience differences in memory, communication, orientation, understanding and emotional responses.

Unfamiliar environments, changes in routine or difficulties communicating needs may contribute to distress.

The campaign advocates for greater practical understanding of:

• Accessible and reassuring communication.

• Cognitive differences and individual support requirements.

• Environmental adjustments.

• Familiarity, predictability and appropriate reassurance.

• Dignity, autonomy and person-centred care.

• Appropriate involvement of families and carers.

• Consent, mental capacity and lawful decision-making support.

💜 Our Focus

To promote care that recognises the individual beyond their diagnosis and supports dignity, understanding and appropriate individualised responses.

♿ Disability, Therapy and Rehabilitation Services

Including physical disability services, learning disability support, sensory impairment services, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and rehabilitation.

Individuals may experience multiple needs affecting mobility, communication, sensory accessibility, cognition or emotional wellbeing.

Professionals may specialise in one area while encountering individuals with additional requirements beyond that specialism.

💜 Our Focus

To encourage whole-person approaches that recognise additional needs alongside the condition or impairment primarily associated with a service.

🏡 Adult Social Care and Community Support

Including residential care, nursing homes, supported living, domiciliary care, day services, adult disability services, social work and community-based support.

Social care professionals may support individuals with lifelong disabilities, acquired impairments, dementia, mental health needs or complex care requirements.

The campaign recognises the importance of individual choice, communication, independence, dignity and appropriate decision-making support.

💜 Our Focus

To strengthen inclusive, person-centred social care that respects individual preferences, rights and support requirements.

🤝 Children's Social Care and Family Support

Including children's disability social work teams, family support, child protection, safeguarding services, looked-after children's services and relevant specialist provision.

Children and families accessing these services may have additional communication, sensory, developmental, cognitive or emotional support needs.

These needs may affect how individuals understand information, communicate with professionals or participate in assessments and support planning.

💜 Our Focus

To encourage accessible communication, appropriate adjustments and greater understanding of additional needs within children's social care, while maintaining safeguarding responsibilities and the welfare and rights of children.

❤️ Specialist, Complex and Long-Term Care

Including palliative and end-of-life care, complex needs services, long-term condition management, chronic illness support and specialist nursing.

Individuals receiving specialist or long-term care may have additional needs beyond those associated with their primary medical condition.

💜 Our Focus

To encourage professionals to recognise and respond to the full range of an individual's needs throughout assessment, treatment, ongoing support and care planning.

🎯 Our Six Health and Care Campaign Aims

🎓 1. Strengthen Inclusion Education Within Health and Care Qualifications

We advocate for stronger, more comprehensive, consistently delivered and appropriately assessed inclusion education within relevant health and care qualifications, building upon existing professional requirements.

Although current qualifications and professional standards already include aspects of equality, disability, communication and person-centred practice, the campaign seeks to investigate whether this education consistently prepares learners for the diversity of needs they may encounter.

Training should support understanding of:

• Neurodivergence, including autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental differences.

• Learning disabilities and cognitive differences.

• Physical disabilities and accessibility requirements.

• Sensory impairments and sensory processing differences.

• Speech, language and communication needs.

• Mental health difficulties, psychological distress and trauma-related needs.

• Anxiety, overwhelming fear and difficulties managing unfamiliar situations.

• Dementia, memory difficulties and cognitive changes.

• Long-term health conditions and fluctuating support needs.

• Developmental differences and additional needs affecting children and young people.

• Multiple or co-occurring needs requiring individualised approaches.

Education should also address:

Reasonable adjustments, accessible communication, dignity, consent, safeguarding, professional boundaries, individual autonomy and person-centred care.

We recognise that these subjects are already addressed within applicable professional standards and educational programmes.

For example, HCPC standards of proficiency include requirements concerning equality, diversity, inclusion and adjustments to professional practice.

Our campaign seeks to understand whether the depth, consistency and practical application of this education are sufficient, rather than assuming that existing teaching is absent.

We do not propose that every professional should become a specialist in every condition.

Instead, we advocate for a consistent foundation of practical inclusion knowledge appropriate to each professional role, alongside an understanding of when specialist advice or additional support may be required.

💜 Our Goal

To help ensure that relevant health and care qualifications provide professionals with meaningful, practically applicable inclusion education, supporting greater understanding, confidence and responsiveness when working with individuals who have additional needs.

🏥 2. Strengthen Meaningful, Supervised Inclusion-Focused Practical Experience

We advocate for meaningful supervised practical experience that provides health and care learners with opportunities to develop their understanding of additional needs in real-world settings.

Many professional qualifications already include substantial practical placements and assessments.

For example, nursing programmes must provide learning opportunities that enable students to develop competence in caring for a diverse range of people across nursing fields and age groups.

However, the campaign seeks to investigate whether learners consistently receive meaningful opportunities to understand and respond to additional needs, including those they may encounter outside their usual professional specialism.

💜 The Campaign Proposes:

A minimum of 1 working shift of supervised, inclusion-focused practical experience, with 12 hours recommended where appropriate or possible, within a suitable specialist or additional-support environment as part of relevant professional qualifications.

The purpose of this experience is to provide learners with additional exposure to the needs, experiences and support requirements of patients, residents, service users and other individuals accessing health and care services.

Suitable learning environments could include:

• Specialist disability or additional-support services.

• Dementia and memory care settings.

• Mental health and psychological services.

• Neurodevelopmental and learning disability services.

• Children's disability and additional-support services.

• Maternity and other healthcare settings offering relevant inclusion-focused experience.

• Appropriate community, residential or social care environments.

The suitability of a placement should depend upon the meaningful inclusion-focused learning opportunities available, rather than solely upon whether the establishment is formally designated as specialist.

Depending on the qualification and professional role, learners should have opportunities to:

Recognise additional needs

Observe how communication, sensory, cognitive, emotional, developmental or physical differences may influence an individual's experience of care.

Understand accessible communication

Explore appropriate communication adjustments, including visual information, simplified explanations, alternative communication methods and individual preferences.

Develop sensory awareness

Recognise how noise, lighting, physical contact, unfamiliar environments and procedures may affect individuals differently.

Observe person-centred support

Understand how care can be adapted appropriately to individual needs, preferences and circumstances.

Recognise anxiety, fear and distress

Explore how additional needs may influence responses to unfamiliar environments, examinations, treatment or care procedures.

Understand dignity, consent and autonomy

Recognise the importance of informed consent, confidentiality, individual choice and lawful decision-making support.

Understand multidisciplinary working

Observe how different professionals and services may contribute to appropriate individualised care.

Reflect upon practical learning

Discuss experiences with an appropriate supervisor and consider how relevant learning could inform future professional practice.

Recognising Existing Practical Training

The campaign recognises that many regulated health and care qualifications already require substantial supervised practical learning.

Our proposal is intended to build upon existing qualification and placement requirements, recognising suitable existing experience and avoiding unnecessary duplication.

Where an existing placement already provides equivalent, appropriately supervised and inclusion-focused learning, this should be considered when developing any future proposal.

The experience must be appropriate to the learner's professional role and scope of practice, with suitable supervision, safeguarding arrangements and respect for the rights, privacy, dignity and consent of individuals receiving care.

The proposed minimum of one working shift and recommended 12 hours are campaign proposals, not existing statutory requirements or established evidence-based thresholds.

Their suitability, implementation and assessment would require further research and consultation with professional regulators, education providers, employers, learners and people with lived experience.

💜 Our Goal

To provide health and care learners with meaningful, supervised exposure to additional needs, helping them connect theoretical inclusion education with practical understanding before entering or progressing within their professions.

🧩 3. Improve Access to Specialist Knowledge, Resources and Reasonable Adjustments

Meaningful inclusion requires more than professional knowledge.

Health and care professionals also need appropriate resources, organisational support and access to specialist advice to respond effectively to individuals with different needs.

The campaign advocates for improved access to:

• Specialist advice and multidisciplinary support, where appropriate.

• Accessible communication resources, including visual information, easy-read materials, communication aids and alternative formats.

• Sensory-aware environments and practical adjustments, recognising the effects of lighting, noise, waiting areas and unfamiliar procedures.

• Individualised care planning and relevant support information, with appropriate consent and information-sharing safeguards.

• Continuing professional development, reflecting developments in inclusive practice.

• Clear organisational guidance, helping professionals understand how to identify, request and implement appropriate adjustments.

• Practical resources for supporting individuals with dementia, neurodevelopmental differences, psychological distress, communication difficulties and other additional needs.

We recognise that reasonable adjustments are already required in relevant circumstances under the Equality Act 2010, and that health and care organisations have existing professional, regulatory and legal responsibilities.

The campaign does not seek to replace these obligations.

Instead, we aim to investigate whether professionals have the practical knowledge, resources and organisational support needed to fulfil applicable responsibilities effectively.

We also recognise that resources, staffing arrangements and specialist services vary between settings.

Our aim is to identify potential barriers and advocate for practical, proportionate improvements that support accessible and responsive care.

💜 Our Goal

To help ensure that health and care professionals have the knowledge, resources and organisational support needed to translate inclusive intentions into everyday practice.

🤝 4. Strengthen Communication, Person-Centred Care and Partnerships

Effective inclusion depends upon recognising that individuals have valuable knowledge of their own experiences, preferences and support needs.

Where appropriate, families, carers and those who know an individual well can also provide valuable information about communication, accessibility, distress, routines and effective support approaches.

However, individuals and families should not routinely be expected to provide the professional education that staff require to deliver appropriate care.

The campaign advocates for:

• Listening to patients, residents and service users, including those who communicate differently or require additional support to express their views.

• Recognising individual preferences and communication methods, rather than relying upon assumptions associated with a diagnosis or disability.

• Involving families and carers appropriately, respecting consent, confidentiality, mental capacity and the individual's rights.

• Improving accessible explanations and communication, particularly when discussing appointments, procedures, treatment options and care arrangements.

• Supporting shared decision-making, with appropriate assistance where individuals need help understanding or communicating choices.

• Recognising distress and behaviour as potentially meaningful communication, while avoiding assumptions about its cause.

• Promoting dignity, respect and individual autonomy, including for individuals with complex or substantial support needs.

• Recognising the additional needs of parents, partners and carers, including within maternity, paediatric and family-focused services.

Existing professional standards already establish important expectations concerning communication, dignity, consent and person-centred care.

Our campaign seeks to investigate whether professionals consistently receive the education, practical experience and resources needed to apply these principles when supporting individuals with different additional needs.

Partnerships should be based upon mutual respect, appropriate professional responsibility and the individual's rights and preferences.

💜 Our Goal

To encourage health and care environments where individuals feel listened to, understood, respected and meaningfully involved in decisions about their care, with families and carers appropriately included.

🌱 5. Promote Earlier Recognition, Needs-Led Support and Accessible Care

Additional needs are not always immediately visible, formally diagnosed or consistently understood.

Some individuals may experience barriers to accessing healthcare or care services because their needs are overlooked, misunderstood or not recognised until difficulties escalate.

The campaign advocates for earlier recognition of potential support needs and more responsive, individualised approaches, wherever appropriate.

This includes:

• Recognising potential communication, sensory, cognitive, emotional and physical support needs without relying solely upon visible characteristics or diagnostic labels.

• Considering reasonable adjustments based upon individual circumstances, rather than unnecessarily delaying accessible support while awaiting formal diagnosis.

• Identifying potential barriers to appointments, assessments, treatment and ongoing care.

• Improving preparation for unfamiliar environments and procedures, including accessible information and appropriate opportunities to discuss concerns.

• Supporting continuity of relevant accessibility information, where lawful and appropriate, to reduce unnecessary repetition for individuals and families.

• Recognising that additional needs can arise or change throughout life, including through illness, injury, disability, ageing or changing circumstances.

• Encouraging timely referral or specialist input, where indicated and within applicable professional pathways.

• Recognising that parents, partners and carers may also require adjustments when accessing or participating in health and care services.

Recognising Existing Clinical and Legal Requirements

We recognise that formal assessments, diagnoses and eligibility criteria remain necessary for some treatments, specialist services and statutory support arrangements.

Similarly, decisions concerning consent, mental capacity, safeguarding and information sharing must comply with applicable law and professional responsibilities.

Our objective is not to remove appropriate clinical or legal requirements.

Instead, we aim to investigate whether individuals experience avoidable barriers to accessible communication, reasonable adjustments and needs-led support.

💜 Our Goal

To promote health and care services that recognise individual support needs earlier, respond appropriately and reduce avoidable barriers to accessing safe, dignified and effective care.

💜 6. Strengthen Professional Confidence, Wellbeing and Organisational Support

Meaningful inclusion should not depend entirely upon individual professionals finding additional information, resources or training in their own time.

Health and care staff work within environments that may involve significant responsibilities, competing demands, limited resources and complex individual needs.

The campaign recognises that professional confidence and inclusive practice are influenced not only by individual knowledge, but also by the support available within organisations.

We advocate for:

• Accessible, relevant continuing professional development, appropriate to professional responsibilities.

• Opportunities for supervision, reflection and professional discussion, particularly when supporting individuals with complex or unfamiliar needs.

• Clear guidance and escalation pathways, helping staff access specialist support when required.

• Appropriate organisational resources, including communication aids, accessible information and practical adjustments.

• Supportive workplace cultures, where professionals can identify learning needs and seek guidance without unnecessary stigma.

• Recognition of workload, staffing pressures and wellbeing, including their potential impact upon the delivery of individualised care.

• Inclusion-focused learning opportunities throughout professional careers, rather than treating qualification completion as the end of professional development.

• Opportunities to develop understanding across different services and specialisms, recognising that additional needs are not confined to particular departments.

We recognise that existing professional standards already address safe practice, professional development and aspects of wellbeing.

The campaign does not suggest that training alone can resolve staffing shortages, resource limitations or wider organisational challenges.

Instead, we advocate for a balanced approach that recognises the relationship between professional education, practical experience, workplace support and the quality of care.

💜 Our Goal

To support a health and care workforce that is appropriately educated, practically prepared, professionally supported and confident in responding to visible and hidden additional needs.

🔎 What We Want to Investigate

Understanding Existing Education, Practical Experience and Workforce Support

The Inclusion Needs Infrastructure Campaign recognises that existing professional standards provide an important foundation for inclusive practice.

However, professional standards establish expectations and competencies; they do not necessarily demonstrate how consistently individual learners experience particular types of inclusion-focused education and supervised practice.

Our campaign therefore aims to gather evidence concerning:

1. Existing inclusion education

What inclusion-related subjects are currently taught within relevant professional qualifications, and how consistently are they delivered and assessed?

2. Practical experience

Do learners receive meaningful opportunities to observe and participate appropriately in care involving individuals with different visible and hidden additional needs?

3. Supervised learning

Are learners supported to understand, discuss and reflect upon the inclusive approaches they encounter during practical training?

4. Professional confidence

Do practitioners feel adequately prepared to recognise and respond to additional needs within their professional roles?

5. Resources and specialist support

Do professionals have appropriate access to specialist advice, communication resources, reasonable adjustments and continuing professional development?

6. Organisational barriers

Are there practical, educational or organisational factors that make inclusive care more difficult to deliver consistently?

7. Positive practice

Which existing training approaches, placements, resources and workplace practices are considered effective and could inform wider improvements?

We recognise that positive experiences are just as important as identifying challenges.

The campaign aims to understand what is already working well, where improvements may be beneficial and whether proposed changes would be proportionate and achievable.

⚖️ How Our Proposals Relate to Existing Professional Standards

The campaign recognises that professional education requirements differ between nursing, midwifery, medicine, pharmacy, paramedicine, psychology, social work and other health and care professions.

For example, the NMC establishes substantial nursing practice-learning requirements, while the HCPC regulates a range of professions with different approved education pathways. The GPhC also establishes specific education and foundation training requirements for pharmacists.

Our campaign does not propose replacing these existing arrangements with a single identical training programme.

Instead, we advocate for a shared principle:

Relevant professional qualifications should provide meaningful inclusion education and appropriate opportunities to apply that knowledge in supervised practice.

Our proposed inclusion-focused rotation is intended to strengthen this principle.

Any future recommendation would need to consider:

• Existing professional qualification requirements.

• Relevant supervised placement and assessment arrangements.

• The professional responsibilities and scope of practice of learners.

• Suitable existing inclusion-focused practical experience.

• Appropriate supervision, safeguarding and consent.

• Placement availability and educational resources.

• Evidence concerning the effectiveness and proportionality of proposed changes.

Recognising Ongoing Developments

Professional education standards continue to evolve.

For example, the Health and Care Professions Council published revised Standards of Education and Training on 7 October 2026, with implementation required from 1 September 2027.

These changes include strengthened expectations concerning inclusive educational environments and the quality of learning experiences.

The campaign recognises the importance of considering such developments when assessing existing requirements and proposing improvements.

We aim to build upon progress already being made, rather than duplicate or disregard it.

🌍 Our Wider Health and Care Commitment

Visible Needs. Hidden Needs. Lifelong Inclusion.

The Inclusion Needs Infrastructure Campaign recognises that meaningful inclusion is relevant across the entire lifespan.

Additional needs do not disappear when an individual leaves education, reaches adulthood or enters later life.

They may be present from birth, develop over time, fluctuate or arise following illness, injury, disability or changing personal circumstances.

A midwife may support an autistic mother.

A paramedic may attend someone experiencing severe anxiety.

A radiographer may examine a patient with sensory processing differences.

A psychologist may assess an individual with a learning disability.

A pharmacist may support someone living with dementia.

A children's social worker may work with a child who has complex communication needs.

These examples demonstrate why understanding additional needs is relevant across health and care services, rather than solely within specialist departments.

Our campaign advocates for accessible, responsive and person-centred health and care services for children, young people, adults and older adults.

We recognise that health and social care arrangements, legislation and regulatory responsibilities differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Although some professional regulators establish standards across the UK, national service arrangements and applicable legislation are not identical.

Our proposals must therefore be considered alongside the existing requirements applicable to each nation, profession and service.

We do not assume that existing professional education or care arrangements are universally inadequate.

Instead, we aim to gather workforce experiences, identify potential gaps, recognise effective existing practice and advocate for proportionate, evidence-informed improvements.

💜 What We Hope to Achieve

Through the Health and Care Campaign, we hope to contribute to:

🎓 Stronger Professional Preparation

Inclusion education that is comprehensive, relevant and appropriately assessed within existing professional qualification frameworks.

🏥 Meaningful Practical Understanding

Supervised learning opportunities that help professionals understand how additional needs may affect individuals accessing different health and care services.

🧩 Improved Accessibility

Greater professional understanding of communication, sensory, cognitive, emotional and physical support needs.

🤝 Better Individual and Family Experiences

Care that recognises individual preferences, respects autonomy and appropriately involves families and carers.

🌱 Earlier Recognition and Responsive Support

Greater awareness of additional needs and appropriate responses that reduce avoidable barriers to accessing care.

💜 Supported and Confident Professionals

A workforce with access to relevant education, supervision, specialist advice, practical resources and continuing professional development.

Our intention is to support meaningful inclusion through professional education, practical experience and organisational support, rather than relying upon policy statements alone.

💜 Our Message

Inclusion should not exist only within legislation, professional standards and organisational policies.

Health and care professionals also need the education, practical experience, resources and support necessary to make inclusion meaningful in everyday care.

An individual's need to be understood does not end when they leave education, reach adulthood or grow older.

💜 Inclusion Needs Infrastructure

Visible Needs. Hidden Needs. Lifelong Inclusion.

Better Understanding. Meaningful Experience. Accessible Care.

📚 Official Professional Standards Referenced

The following official regulatory sources support the factual background to this England-focused campaign. They describe existing professional expectations; they do not constitute evidence that the campaign's proposed rotation is necessary or effective.

• Nursing and Midwifery Council — Pre-registration Nursing Programme Standards

• Nursing and Midwifery Council — Midwifery Programme Standards

• Health and Care Professions Council — Paramedic Proficiency Standards

• Health and Care Professions Council — Revised Education and Training Standards

• General Medical Council — Outcomes for Graduates

• General Pharmaceutical Council — Initial Education and Training Standards

• Social Work England — Education and Training Standards