Since the emergence of Covid-19 in the UK, media interest in physiotherapy has sharply increased. This has enabled the CSP to raise the profile of the profession with the general public and stakeholders, and to publicise key strategic issues.
Our media coverage has potentially been seen by millions of people via stories in national newspapers and broadcast news.
World Physical Therapy Day 2020 aims to promote the role of physiotherapy in rehabilitation and Covid-19. To celebrate this, here are some media highlights from recent months, showcasing the breadth of expertise of our members.
Rehabilitation
The media has extensively covered the need to rehabilitate Covid survivors. There have been in-depth features, with the Daily Mail calling a respiratory physio the 'secret weapon' for recovery, and a hard-hitting, first-person piece in the Guardian describing how it can be 'haunting' to treat Covid patients.
Broadcasters have helped position the CSP as an expert voice in rehabilitation. Channel 4 News re-visited patients and physios that it had featured earlier in the pandemic in an eight-minute segment on Covid recovery. And the Metro, alongside other outlets, reported on CSP research into the number of survivors who could need rehabilitation.
Advice for the public
At the end of June, the CSP launched the Coivd19: Road to Recovery animation and accompanying advice for the public who are recovering from Covid-19. This has been viewed more than 250,000 times across the CSP's channels.
Our advice on being active and keeping healthy has also been of regular interest to the media. Articles have included tips for returning to re-opened gyms on Sky news, which also promoted the work of First Contact Physiotherapists, and how to reduce tennis injuries in The Times.
Working from home was still a popular topic in media, and last month BBC radio featured physio advice for keeping moving and avoiding aches and pains in home offices.
Wider contribution
Via the media, we have spoken on matters that affect our members and the profession more broadly. We gained extensive coverage of the CSP’s reaction to Public Health England being replaced, including on the front page of The Sun, the i, and in wide-spread regional newspapers.
Recently Radio 4 interviewed CSP director Rob Yeldham, who called for routine, regular testing of asymptomatic healthcare professionals who work with vulnerable patients.
We hope you also use World Physical Therapy Day to raise awareness of the profession’s crucial contribution to keeping people well, mobile and independent.
Are you working on something newsworthy or want to share your Covid-related story? Contact the CSP press office.
Find Out More
Number of subscribers: 2
Log in to comment and read comments that have been added
