Your comments: 7 June 2017

The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists for People with a Learning Disability professional network has launched a resource aimed at colleagues working in mainstream services. This is titled ‘So your next patient has a learning disability: making reasonable adjustments’. Topics covered include planning appointments, making communication work, adapting assessments and environment.

 

You can download copies from www.csp.org.uk/nextpatient or by using the QR code. 

 

I read the article in the 15 March edition on Victoria Dickens with interest (page 31). I completely concur with her advice about following in her footsteps. From 2001-2008 I was a clinical director at Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust (and following a restructure, in the primary care trust) with responsibility for all the trust’s community children’s services. This was the first time that a professional other than a doctor had held such a post. 

 

Resilience, passion and tenacity are definitely attributes you need to succeed in such a post as well as having credibility and integrity at all levels, both in and outside your organisation. I wish Victoria every success in her role. 

 

I retired in June 2013, having finished my career as deputy director of quality and governance and allied health professions lead with Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust.

 

The Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences at Keele University hosted a free seminar on shoulder pain research on 15 May. The seminar, which was attended by 70 clinicians and academics, aimed to disseminate research findings, share ideas and develop clinical academic networks. 

 

We felt it was timely to host such an event, particularly because shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal pain problems and four people in 10 with shoulder pain are said to experience problems one year later. The speakers took us on a research journey. They gave details of the recently-completed SUPPORT trial, a network meta-analysis of treatments for shoulder pain, for example. 

 

Based on this we are thinking of holding similar events in the future. If you would like to join our circulation list, email Chris Littlewood; Look out for coverage of the event, coming soon on YouTube.