Workshops at CSP Congress 2008

This seminar will ask participants to explore the contribution of physiotherapy to the public health agenda through physical activity and exercise prescription. Move for Health is a 5-year CSP project established to raise the profile of the contribution the physiotherapy profession makes towards enabling the health and wellbeing of society. This session provides a forum for participants to discuss enablers and barriers to engaging with this, and will also help to inform the CSP’s future work streams of the Move for Health project.

Abstract
In 2008, public health is high on the agenda for all four countries of the UK and there is a strong political drive highlighted within the Darzi review of the NHS to redirect it’s focus from an ‘illness’ service to a ‘wellness’ service. Key government agendas are addressing targeted groups of the population such as children, those of working age and older people to address health inequalities by tackling the social determinants of health.

Over the last 50 years, there have been impressive social economic and health improvements in the UK. People from every class and region are healthier and living longer than ever before. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to share the benefits of these improvements. Inequalities in health start early in life and persist not only into old age but subsequent generations.

The direction of travel for the health system is towards one that focuses on the promotion of good health and the prevention of disease. Commissioning arrangements and workforce recruitment patterns based on care pathways are now opening up opportunities for physiotherapy to contribute more widely to the public health agenda.

Physiotherapists must be able to prove the value of their contribution to this approach in order to secure their position as an essential profession to deliver public health services.
Presented by: Bridget Hurley and Ralph Hammond

The CSP is currently undertaking an innovative project called ‘Charting the Future’. The aim of the project is to stimulate much-needed debate within the profession and with its stakeholders about how physiotherapy currently contributes to the health and wellbeing of the UK population. Also, and perhaps more importantly, how it can contribute much more.

The debate will inform work at the CSP aimed at supporting the profession as it evolves over the coming years. The ultimate outcome of the Charting the Future project will be new resources – to underpin learning and development, practice and conduct - together with a toolkit to help people use and apply the resources.

If you would like to contribute to this work, come along to our workshop to explore questions with your colleagues such as:

• How could the skills and knowledge of physiotherapists and physiotherapy support workers be applied more or differently to benefit individuals and communities?
• How is your role - in education, practice, research, management, leadership or any other – different from how it would have been 2 or 5 years ago?
• What opportunities do you see for developing your role or your service?
• What are the challenges and barriers you face in doing this?

Places for this workshop are limited to 30 and will be allocated on a first come first served basis, so please email chartingthefuture@csp.org.uk with your name and contact details to book a place.

If you’d like to know more about the project, log onto the csp website www.csp.org.uk or download an information booklet at Charting the Future (425Kb PDF)

This seminar will ask participants to explore the contribution of physiotherapy to the public health agenda through physical activity and exercise prescription. Move for Health is a 5-year CSP project established to raise the profile of the contribution the physiotherapy profession makes towards enabling the health and wellbeing of society. This session provides a forum for participants to discuss enablers and barriers to engaging with this, and will also help to inform the CSP’s future work streams of the Move for Health project.

Abstract
In 2008, public health is high on the agenda for all four countries of the UK and there is a strong political drive highlighted within the Darzi review of the NHS to redirect it’s focus from an ‘illness’ service to a ‘wellness’ service. Key government agendas are addressing targeted groups of the population such as children, those of working age and older people to address health inequalities by tackling the social determinants of health.

Over the last 50 years, there have been impressive social economic and health improvements in the UK. People from every class and region are healthier and living longer than ever before. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to share the benefits of these improvements. Inequalities in health start early in life and persist not only into old age but subsequent generations.

The direction of travel for the health system is towards one that focuses on the promotion of good health and the prevention of disease. Commissioning arrangements and workforce recruitment patterns based on care pathways are now opening up opportunities for physiotherapy to contribute more widely to the public health agenda.

Physiotherapists must be able to prove the value of their contribution to this approach in order to secure their position as an essential profession to deliver public health services.
Presented by: Bridget Hurley and Ralph Hammond