Pippa Hales

Chief Allied Health Professional at Royal Papworth Hospital and Professional Doctorate student at Anglia Ruskin University

Pippa qualified, a little lack lustre, from University College London as a Speech and Language Therapist in 1998. It was only once she started work that she realised her passion for the profession. Having worked in a variety of paediatric and adult settings she eventually specialised in the field of adult dysphagia (swallowing difficulties), where she found her clinical niche.

In 2005 Pippa completed her research MSc in Voice and Swallowing research at Newcastle University, publishing her research on the added value of instrumental swallow assessments. The MSc fuelled her appetite for research and gave her the tools to progress.

Since then, Pippa has been a committee member of the UK Swallow Research Group for the last 12 years, supporting the sharing of international knowledge and the multiprofessional development of researchers in the field of dysphagia and learning a lot herself along the way. In 2020 Pippa stepped down from the UKSRG to join the CAHPR committee.

In 2014 Pippa moved to Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, as the service lead for Speech and Language Therapy. Now, as the Chief AHP for the Trust, Pippa’s research interest has moved from clinical research into the field of AHP leadership and its impact on the workforce, the patients and the organisation.

In 2019 Pippa took the leap and began her Professional Doctorate at Anglia Ruskin University. It is an opportunity to combine her passion for her job and her passion for improving healthcare through research.

Pippa has contributed chapters for books and has articles published in peer reviewed journals on topics ranging from tracheostomy management through to the combined nursing and AHP response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition she has presented at conferences across the UK and in Europe.