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By Gillian Rawlinson, CSP assistant director, practice and development We’ve got so much to be thankful for as we reflect on one of the most difficult periods any of us have ever faced in the health and social care sector. As we look ahead, I wanted to reflect on the opportunities and challenges facing AHPs and physiotherapists as we try to reset, find opportunities to develop and have even greater impact. The first thing to do though is to say a huge thanks to all of our AHPs for everything you have done this year. Whoever you are and wherever you work, it has been tough and it is essential

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact for many people living with a long-term condition. The physical deterioration caused by greater levels of inactivity has been compounded by the social isolation of lockdown. At the same time, rehabilitation services vital in managing and helping to support have been suspended and continue to face challenges in clearing the enormous backlog. There is greater need now than ever before – even before you consider the one million people living with Long Covid, most of whom require some form of rehabilitation. The CSP contributed to the report

A xenophobic headline, which the paper rather than the would be NHS CEO are responsible for, has ignited outrage. This lays right into the so-called 'culture war' between liberal internationalists and conservative nationalists. But in my view discussions on NHS workforce should not be turned into part of the culture war because that will drive decisions based on ideology, rather than what we need as a healthcare system. The NHS relies on colleagues from across the world, and has done for decades. They are a valued and essential part of the team Anyone who doesn’t recognise this, especially at

What is May Day? 1 May is celebrated as a national or public holiday around the globe. The date originated in the 19th century around the time trade unions worked towards their famous wins – the eight-hour working day, and later, the weekend. This year, May Day was particularly poignant as we celebrated past and present solidarity and victories but also remembered thousands of workers, including over 230 NHS staff, who died over the past year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. What is CSP's new campaign? On May Day 2021, CSP launched a new recruitment campaign for workplace stewards and

As Chair of Council, I want to explain to members why we reached this decision at our last meeting and the benefits it could bring to the physiotherapy profession. There is an ambition in the UK to develop a newly defined CEP who will specialise in the prescription and delivery of evidence-based exercise interventions as part of the prevention, treatment and long-term management of acute, sub-acute, chronic and complex conditions; working as part of a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare and rehabilitation providers across sectors and settings. CEP services will aim to optimise physical

Across the five days I heard from UK and international leaders in digital health and social care delivery including Simon Eccles, Natasha Phillips, Sonia Patel, Russ Branzell, Shera Chok, Shayne Hunter, Sarah Wilkinson and Matthew Gould. On Thursday I heard from UK secretary of state for health and social care , Matt Hancock on the next steps of digital health leadership in England. He announced his five next steps for digital health in England. Although this announcement is for England only I hope that it will be echoed by the health departments in the devolved governments throughout the UK

The simple response of course is ‘because it isn’t enough’ but in reality the answer is far more complex and far more serious. There are of course the moral reasons. The 1.4 million people employed by the NHS have just been through the most difficult year of their working lives – and it isn’t over yet. They have saved many tens of thousands of lives and provided outstanding physical care and emotional succour to those whose lives they couldn’t save. They have needed to acquire novel knowledge and skills rapidly; have often been redeployed to new work areas several times; and have repeatedly

We heard very clearly from members the concerns about how collaborative we could be with members when there is so much work in the current time frame and when many members are working exceptionally long hours on the frontline during the pandemic. Without this collaboration, there is the real danger of developing a strategy which ‘hits the target but misses the point’. We are clear, however, that any slowing down in no way diminishes our ambition for transformation. The work to develop the CSP’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy started last June with a whole range of listening events

The Department of Health and Social Care has today published a White Paper, titled I ntegration and Innovation: Working Together to Improve Health and Social Care for All, which sets out a series of new proposals that aim to reform the NHS and build on its successful response to the pandemic. The CSP views the proposals as a welcome shift away from competition, and towards greater collaboration and integration, and we believe the reforms are essential to strengthen accountability at every level - from the Secretary of State and Parliament to NHS bodies that are part of local systems. However

Like many acute Trusts across the country, the MSK, paediatric and pelvic health physio teams at Ashford and St Peters (ASPH) in Surrey were facing competing demands on rehabilitation space as a result of the pandemic. Building on the ideas they had to bring rehabilitation closer to home for patients before the pandemic hit, the team managed to successfully influence at all levels of local decision-making to secure gym space and clinic at 3 local gyms. In this blog post they describe how they achieved this, how their influencing efforts snowballed and the positive effect on staff and patients