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I was faced with a dilemma last Friday: I write a weekly email on Fridays to all CSP staff and I included a paragraph recognising how staff must be feeling about the distressing footage of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the sense of absolute outrage across the world at the implicit and explicit racism still so prevalent in our society and challenged by the Black Lives Matter campaign. I apologised for how long it took us as an organisation to respond and my personal responsibility for this. And then I deleted the paragraph. I reinserted and deleted it twice. The email went to

Whilst key workers continue to face immense challenges, those of us at home can play our part in protecting the NHS from a influx of conditions related to inactivity after the restrictions are eased. Has lockdown changed our physical activity levels? The repercussions of lockdown are only just beginning to be understood. It is challenging at the best of times to get an accurate measure of physical activity at population level, and a sudden and extreme change adds further complexity. However, researchers have been scrambling to capture data and early reports are starting to be shared. Viewed

Much of this work is providing high quality treatment, care and rehabilitation to those with severe symptoms of Covid-19, primarily in the acute sector. But I’m also well aware that physiotherapy staff are doing incredible and invaluable work across the entire Covid-19 care pathway, not only in intensive care and acute wards, but also in community settings and people’s homes - providing essential rehabilitation to patients who’ve already been discharged. As we get through the pandemic we know more and more patients will recover, leave hospital and return to their homes. And when they do, we

First, the good news. Full funding for all FCP posts – up from 70 per cent. This is very welcome. It removes what had emerged as a barrier to implementation in some areas. The extra money is also accompanied by an expansion in the number of posts in the wider primary care team. The target is now to have 26,000 non-GP staff by 2023/24. This is up from the previous goal of 20,000. It's a substantial commitment to ensuring patients can see the right professional at the right time. This expansion will come in part by including more professionals from the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme

The CSP is politically engaged but not partisan. We don’t seek to influence how members or the public vote. But it is a core part of our role to comment on behalf of the profession on the policies politicians propose. The CSP are lobbying parties and candidates in line with our strategic priorities. Here's what the UK-wide parties are saying Issue Conservative Labour Lib Dems Greens NHS, public health and social care funding The NHS budget will go up by £33.9 billion by 2023-24 Increase spending to £154.9 billion by 2023-24 - a 4.3% average annual increase Broadly matching Labour spending plan

What’s one of the things you fear most about growing older? Developing a disability? Not being able to get out and about anymore? Needing help around the home? Not being able to wash or dress yourself? Falling and breaking a hip? We know that loss of muscle strength as we age is closely linked to all of the above. The good news is that losing your strength – and the functional ability that comes with it – as you age isn’t inevitable. Undertaking exercises to strengthen your bones and muscles and improve your balance are very effective for reducing your risk of developing some of these health

As I write, we are waiting for the Chancellor to give his spending review speech to Parliament. In theory this should be the big reveal for the new government’s public spending priorities. However, so many pending commitments have been pre announced by ministers or trailed in the media that we have some sense of what to expect. Social care The CSP would welcome any additional funding for social care. Social care is particularly important to physiotherapists and physio support workers. They often work at the interface with social care and see first-hand the impact of restricted funding on their

We are all home now and digesting what was an amazing period for everyone involved. I will confess I miss leaving my washing outside my door only for it to return neatly pressed the next morning. I also am not a fan of this new found fad called “cooking”, I mean, where is my 20-station buffet?! Travelling with a Special Olympics squad is not easy, you are mentally “on duty” 24 hours for the entirety of the trip and, whereas other sports coaches involvement may end when the athlete steps off the field of play, our volunteers support athletes from waking to going to bed and everything in between

I hope you’ve all noticed through the media how well #TeamSOGB are getting along in Abu Dhabi. While we know that Special Olympics is about far more than just the medals, the guys in the squad have bought into and stuck by the values they themselves set out (below). Thus, they are reaping the rewards. So much so that GB have on a couple of occasions reached the top of the medals table. Again, I should point out that the celebration of Special Olympics competition isn’t primarily on the end goal of winning medals but the power of competition and sport to change lives. It gives a conduit through

Hello everyone. Firstly and most importantly I must right a wrong in the previous blog post. Nicola Turner is indeed coach for artistic gymnastics, not athletics (sorry Nicola, can we be friends again?) So, the opening ceremony has come and gone and I think it's fair to say it was an exceptional experience! Inspirational words from athletes, Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver and others; meeting Sebastian Coe was a great experience for many of our athletes and, I think, they feel it gave them credibility as athletes. If you haven’t yet, you can download the ESPN player app and, without