For Rev Clifford Hughes, a diagnosis of laryngeal cancer was a particularly hard blow.

As a former teacher and professional singer now working as a preacher, his voice had always been his life.

He was told that the surgery he would need on his throat would leave him breathing through a hole in his neck and having to re-learn how to talk.

"Losing my voice brought me close to despair, my voice had been my life. I felt I had lost my identity. Without my voice, I felt I might as well be dead," he admits.

However Rev Hughes benefited from speech and language therapy, which gradually gave him the confidence to regain his ability to speak and through his own efforts and work with a therapist he eventually regained the same voice he had always had, albeit with a slightly lower register.

Now he regularly speaks at the time for reflection slot at the Scottish Parliament, makes radio appearances and still fills in in the pulpit.

"The expertise and encouragement of speech and language therapists have given me back my life," he says.

Mr Hughes is lending his support to a campaign by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and other allied health professionals to have their input taken more seriously as the Scottish Government moves to integrate health and social care.

Ministers are being urged to consider the vital role of speech therapy, physiotherapy, dieticians and occupational therapists in helping people who have been in hospital reintegrate into the community and live independently.

They have been consulting on the proposals and are expected to reveal details of the Health and Social Care Integration Bill shortly.

But the Federation of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) is concerned that these professions have not been represented on any of the advisory groups set up to help shape the new law.

Kim Hartley, RCSLT Scotland policy officer says this is inexplicable, given the importance of their role in rehabilitation for those affected by ailments such as stroke or dementia.

"The Government is saying they want to listen to professionals, but just listening to doctors is not nearly enough. GPs are really important, but we need a clear understanding of the importance of AHPs at the top table," she says.

Ms Hartley says 100% of people with Alzheimers' disease will suffer from communication difficulties, and difficulties in eating, drinking and swallowing, all of which can be helped by speech therapy. People who have strokes need help regaining their speech and physiotherapy and occupational therapy can be vital in helping them return to an active life.

All of this is key to the approaches underpinning health and social care integration, she argues, which are about helping patients out of acute care into the community, by ensuring they regain the skills to live independently in their own homes or with support.

"There is not a huge awareness of the contribution AHPs are making in health and social care, and people with speech and language support needs are not going to be writing to the newspapers or engaging with consultations. But AHPs help reduce hospital admissions and increase quality of life. Therapists are the ones who can deliver these outcomes," Ms Hartley adds.

While AHP services are funded under the NHS at present, the federation is concerned that pooled budgets will not recognise their importance in the care pathway, Ms Hartley says.

In a recent survey by the RCSLT, 30% of speech therapists in Scotland said they were already facing cuts.

"This is not about nice ladies helping people to speak properly. If someone has had a stroke and is suffering dementia, that's a big problem for them, as well as for their wife or relatives. While such cuts feel painless, AHPs can point out that preventative spend is being lost. If you reduce the funding for this, you will just end up paying some other way. We can explain this and the pain it will cause. But only if we are around the table," Ms Hartley says.

Healthcare