Latest Blogs
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Organise. Organise. Organise.
It’s that time of year – 14 February – when shops are filled with red hearts and roses. Valentines’ Day is upon us and spring is just around the corner. It’s also HeartUnions week starting on February 12. I guess you could call this a kind of ‘love your union’ event where across the country workers will be celebrating the work of local reps and the collective voice unions provide. I’ve been working as an organiser for the CSP since May 2017, alongside my colleague Kevin Dale, who has been here since 2015. Together, we cover the length and breadth of the UK to meet, organise and campaign aroundSee more
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CSP Council elections
I am so excited to receive my ballot papers for the CSP Council elections. After the two year governance review, and the membership vote to agree the proposals at November’s AGM, it is really pleasing to get to the point of actually voting people on to the new council. I must admit to a little envy that I’m not going to be there myself. As I said in my last blog, it is such an exciting time for physiotherapy, and it will be hard to step away from being part of the profession’s leadership and strategy development, particularly as the governance changes come into effect. But, looking at the listSee more
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Let’s embrace our unique offer to general practice
Joyce Williams, left, speaking at Physio UK with CSP chief executive Karen Middleton I have been reflecting on the last session at this year's CSP Physiotherapy UK conference - a brilliant discussion that focused on our profession's autonomy. Joyce Williams, a key architect of modern physiotherapy and now in her mid-80s, described passionately how granting the profession autonomy in 1977 had transformed overnight the way physiotherapists practised. We are on the brink of a similarly momentous change, as CSP officers meet with NHS England (NHSE) to develop the commissioning guidance for firstSee more
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Your profession needs you
I’ve written a lot in recent blogs about the CSP governance review and the changes CSP council proposed to improve member leadership and engagement. So I am delighted that the proposals were agreed by the membership at the AGM earlier this month. I won’t repeat all the changes here but you can find out more about them below: Seizing opportunities Governance review I strongly believe the new model will make a really positive difference to the way the CSP is able to act strategically. Transparent, streamlined and timely decision making will enable a more effective voice for physiotherapy as wellSee more
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The world is a small place and I’m a global citizen ... and physiotherapist
Ieuan Ellis (centre) with physio students at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Tanzania © www.kcmc.ac.tz In my twitter profile, I identify as a Global Citizen, a physiotherapist, a professor, a pro vice-chancellor and a former international marathon runner. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s in a small town in mid-Wales, my international horizons were very limited with no concept of being ‘global’. The world seemed a very big place with vast distances separating me from other countries and continents. My knowledge and awareness of international issues and of different cultures wasSee more
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Brexit wake-up call
Behind the scenes, the CSP is busy analysing the potential impact of Brexit on physiotherapy across the country and lobbying to minimise negative effects. Last month we made a submission to the Migration Advisory Committee, the independent expert body that advises the government on immigration. The committee is investigating the size of the European workforce in the UK and trying to establish what the impact on society and the economy would be if there were restrictions on European migration after Britain leaves the European Union. Signficant risk In reviewing the physiotherapy workforce, weSee more
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Physiotherapy UK conference
See moreUK 2017 conference time! And here is my special congress memento. A 37-year old coffee mug (left) from the 1980 CSP Congress held sumptuously in Edinburgh University. Is it a collector’s item now? No sale though, because for me it is very special. 1980 was the year when the profession really came to life. We were out from under the clinical control of the medical profession. The CSP had its third chair who was a physiotherapist, not a doctor. Physiotherapy services were now being run by district physiotherapists. We were seen as senior managers with freedom to provide the best service we could
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Cautionary tales for young physiotherapists
Grandma Williams (GM) now and in her younger (JW) days. Once upon a time in the early days of physiotherapy..... Patients, meaning old ladies, with 'broken hips' were put on traction for 10 weeks, maybe longer. The only hope was to see if it would heal. No hip replacements then! There they lay, pretty immobile, pressure sores developing, inevitably bladder infections making matters worse, and finally broncho-pneumonia. We did what we could, with whole ward bed activity classes, breathing exercises and specific treatment. If they survived, and the rate was low, we had the job of getting them onSee more
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Important message – don’t delete!
I realise heading this blog 'don't delete' makes me sound like a dodgy fraud scheme – but please read on because this affects your future career. Hopefully most CSP members are signed up to receive e-mail communication from the CSP. If so you will have received an email last week about the AGM. I’m sure this isn’t the most exciting topic to reach you by email and that, even with a video link to entice you in, many of you found your fingers hovering over the delete button. Please don’t. If by some mishap you have already done so – here it is again! As a CSP member you are part of a member-ledSee more