60A Hands Across the Sea (and Land) The World Confederation for Physical Therapy Twenty years before the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) was formed in 1951, physiotherapists were taking part in organised study tours and conferences overseas. In 1930 the Society organised a journey to Pistany Spa, in what later became Czechoslovakia, to learn about its healing radioactive mud and sulphurous springs. (This mud was exported to Britain and frequently advertised in the Journal, and was recommended during World War I1 for its heating properties which saved on electricity!) Several more tours went to Pistany, with long overland journeys sounding very uncomfortable to modern ears, but the participants were rapturous about their experiences. In 1937 an International Congress of Massage was held in Paris, organised by the Chambre Syndicale des Auxiliaires Medicaux, and covered several topics of interest to those engaged in physiotherapy. World War I1 and the ensuing shortage of resources put paid to such tours and conferences for some time, but a post-war surge of collective interest in professional arrangements overseas was an inevitable reaction. Several international organisations were established at that time - the World Health Organisation in 1948, for example. The WCPT was formed soon afterwards in 1951, part of a general desire to learn from experience and forge or re-establish links which had been weakened by the war. Eleven physiotherapy associations - in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the USA - sent representatives to Acknowledgment Thanks are due to Miss E M McKay MA MCSP, whose writing has been shamelessly plagiarised in this article, with her permission. Demonstrations by British physiotherapists at the second WCPT Congress, held in London in 1953. Left: Exercises for asthma with a class of children aged four to six years, conducted by Miss M K McDowell. Right: Recreational activities in rehabilitation of the injured, shown by Miss V Barclay the inaugural meeting in Copenhagen. They discussed the merits of establishing an organisation which would help physiotherapists to promote the interchange of professional and scientific knowledge, make better and closer links between countries and within the profession itself and, in short, provide on an international scale, many of the services that professional associations offer at national level. The Confederation has always had close ties with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, for not only was the + . CSP one of the founding members, but for the first ten years of its existence, the Confederation depended very much on the Society to provide it with secretarial services. At that time, the WCPT did not have an independent existence in the shape of separate headquarters, nor any regular source of income and, but for the very real support of the CSP in those early days, it is unlikely that it would have attained a secure base at so early a stage or the stability which has enabled it to develop. The second WCPT Congress was held in London in 1953 and was opened by the Minister of Health, Lord Webb- Johnson. Twenty-five nations were represented. In 1956 Miss G M Griffin MCSP was appointed president, and Miss M J Neilson MBE, Secretary of the Chartered Society, was reappointed honorary secretary and treasurer. By 1961 the organisation had grown so large that a full- time secretariat was established. Miss Nielson was appointed as the first secretary-general and there is no doubt that her considerable abilities and long period of service with the Confederation contributed much to its growth. Today it has 54 member-organisations in countries throughout the world, and through these organisations the WCPT represents nearly 200,000 physiotherapists. Physiotherapy, January 1994, vol80, no A
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60A
Hands Across the Sea (and Land) The World Confederation for Physical Therapy Twenty years before the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) was formed in 1951, physiotherapists were taking part in organised study tours and conferences overseas.
In 1930 the Society organised a journey to Pistany Spa, in what later became Czechoslovakia, to learn about its healing radioactive mud and sulphurous springs. (This mud was exported to Britain and frequently advertised in the Journal, and was recommended during World War I1 for its heating properties which saved on electricity!) Several more tours went to Pistany, with long overland journeys sounding very uncomfortable to modern ears, but the participants were rapturous about their experiences.
In 1937 an International Congress of Massage was held in Paris, organised by the Chambre Syndicale des Aux i l i a i res Medicaux, and covered several topics of interest to those engaged in physiotherapy.
World War I1 and the ensuing shortage of resources put paid to such tours and conferences for some time, but a post-war surge of collective interest in professional arrangements overseas was an inevitable reaction. Several international organisations were established at that time - the World Health Organisation in 1948, for example. The WCPT was formed soon afterwards in 1951, part of a general desire to learn from experience and forge or re-establish links which had been weakened by the war.
Eleven physiotherapy associations - in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the USA - sent representatives to
Acknowledgment Thanks are due to Miss E M McKay MA MCSP, whose writing has been shamelessly plagiarised in this article, with her permission.
Demonstrations b y British physiotherapists at the second WCPT Congress, held in London in 1953. Left: Exercises for asthma with a class of children aged four to six years, conducted by Miss M K McDowell. Right: Recreational activities in rehabilitation of the injured, shown by Miss V Barclay
the inaugural meeting in Copenhagen. They discussed the merits of establishing an organisation which would help physiotherapists to promote the interchange of professional and scientific knowledge, make better and closer links between countries and within the profession itself and, in short, provide on an international scale, many of the services that professional associations offer a t national level.
The Confederation has always had close ties with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, for not only was the +.
CSP one of the founding members, but for the first ten years of its existence, the Confederation depended very much on the Society to provide it with secretarial services. At that time, the WCPT did not have an independent existence in the shape of separate headquarters, nor any regular source of income and, but for the very real support of the CSP in those early days, it is unlikely that it would have attained a secure base at so early a stage or the stability which has enabled it to develop.
The second WCPT Congress was held in London in 1953 and was opened by the Minister of Health, Lord Webb- Johnson. Twenty-five nations were represented.
In 1956 Miss G M Griffin MCSP was appointed president, and Miss M J Neilson MBE, Secretary of the Chartered Society, was reappointed honorary secretary and treasurer.
By 1961 the organisation had grown so large that a full- time secretariat was established. Miss Nielson was appointed as the first secretary-general and there is no doubt that her considerable abilities and long period of service with the Confederation contributed much to its growth. Today it has 54 member-organisations in countries throughout the world, and through these organisations the WCPT represents nearly 200,000 physiotherapists.
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Mrs Rudie Agersnap, then president of WCPT, at the Congress in Copenhagen in 1963, with the daughters of the Queen of Denmark, Princesses Benedikte and Anne-Marie
Membership There is no category for individual membership, only for physiotherapy associations. To be admitted to membership, an association has to show that it is the major representative body for physiotherapists in its own country, that it is recognised nationally as being such by physiotherapists and others, including the medical profession, and that the physiotherapists belonging to it hold a qualification which is approved in that country as the necessary requirement for practice. Thus the Confederation is not an academic body in which there is one standard of professional attainment, nor does admission to membership mean that the members of an association have reached an ‘international standard’.
There is no international standard. In every country the standard of competence of the physiotherapists relates to a number of factors which include the level of economic and social development within the country, and the standard of general education and of medicine, among other things. In a highly industrialised country like Great Britain, where physiotherapy has been established for many years, the standard will obviously be higher than in countries where physiotherapy, as a profession, has been established only recently. This variation prevails within Europe as elsewhere. The underlying purpose of WCPT is not to identify those physiotherapists having the same level of proficiency and knowledge, but to provide the means of co-ordinating and improving the collaboration between associations of physiotherapists and, acting for them, to promote their interests and that of the profession on an international scale.
The Confederation functions through its general meeting, its regional committees, its executive
committee and its secretariat. The general meeting is usually held at the time of the international Congress. It deals with the major items of business: finance, the election of the executive committee and the formulation of policy. Each member-organisation has the right to send a delegation to a general meeting to vote on its behalf. It publishes a twice-yearly newsletter, an annual report and several individual publications - see the list at the end of this article.
Closer to Home Large and successful as it is, the World Confederation can only hold Congresses every four years, and the development of smaller units was inevitable.
The European Confederation of Physical Therapy was formed in 1960 and held annual meetings. The 17th, in 1979, was attended by 400 people - several from outside Europe. The British delegates were Miss E M McKay, who had succeeded Miss Neilson as WCPT secretary- general, and Mr A J Riddell. This organisation has been discontinued.
With the coming of the European Community an organisation was formed rejoicing in the title of Standing Liaison Committee of Physiotherapists within the European Economic Community (SLCP). Much of its work at first was concerned with preparing a Specific Directive solely for the physiotherapy profession, which would regulate movement of physiotherapists within Europe. Draft after draft was prepared by this committee of which Mr D P G Teager FCSP was president. Nevertheless its efforts came to nothing in the end, and physiotherapists were lumped in with other migrant professionals in a general Directive for those with higher education diplomas.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine as joint registering authorities, however, ensure that no one without an adequate standard of training can gain State registration in Britain. Even when State registered, of course, they are still dependent on being offered a job before they can take up employment.
The WCPT itself decided to promote regionalisation and in 1990 in its European Region (later called WCPT- Europe) held its inaugural meeting in Paris. Mrs E Condie has been the British representative and vice- chairman on its executive committee since the start. It is a larger group than the SLCP, because it is not confined to EC countries, and the two organisations are now running in parallel. There are 22 countries with full membership of WCPT- Europe and four send representatives to meetings as observers while waiting for acceptance. The biennial newsletter of WCPT-Europe is published in all the journals of its member-organisations, and it is obvious that the development and recognition of physiotherapy as a profession varies widely within the continent. For example, physiotherapists in Eastern European countries, isolated for many years, are being encouraged to develop their professional associations.
The other regions of the world have similar sub-sections of WCPT, and some regions are paired; Europe, for example, is ‘twinned’ with Africa.
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Pushing Forward Miss Margaret H O’Hare was appointed secretary- general in succession to Miss McKay in July 1986.
A number of publications and statements have been made by the WCPT, focusing for example on paediatrics, care for older people, and equity of health care provision (see publications list below).
British physiotherapists were honoured in 1991 when the WCPT Congress was held in London for the second time. Proceedings were graced by the Chartered Society’s patron, the Queen, and a week-long programme of professional and social events was attended by more than 3,000 people from most parts of the world.
‘The magic of a great international gathering sweeps away for a while the participants’ concern with immediate local problems. The ideal of a wider vision predominates, if only temporarily.’ Those who attended in 1991 would have echoed the view after the first London WCPT Congress, that it was an attempt ‘to capture a spirit, elusive, transient, yet with a power to move mountains’.
Britain’s part in developing physiotherapy world-wide has been amply acknowledged at all WCPT Congresses, and physiotherapists from this country seem likely to maintain a prominent role in any future developments of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy.
Some of the 3,000 participants in the 199 1 Congress at the welcome party on the terrace of the Barbican, London
WCPT Publications All free unless a price is stated. Principles and Guidance for Initiating Training of Physical Therapists Programmes of Physical Therapy Education in Countries Represented by WCPT (f 15) Registration Requirements and Working Conditions in Countries Represented in WCPT (f 10) The Role of Physical Therapy in the Care of Elderly People (f20) Travelling Workshop in Africa for Physical Therapists Treating Children with Cerebral Palsy (f10) WCPT Articles of Association Funds for Educational, Technical and Professional Help Ethical Principles for Physical Therapists WCPT Newsletter - biennial - May and November (f10 per
An Aging World: Physical Therapy. Implications and Training Strategies Proceedings - 1 l t h International Congress (f30 + postage) Private Practitioners International Meeting, 1992, Hong Kong - Report (f 15) Available from WCPT (Pubs), 4a Abbots Place, London NW6 4NP.
SLCP Reports
Year)
Physiotherapy Education within the EEC (2nd edn 1993) and Postgraduate Physiotherapy Education within the EEC (published October 1993) Available from Ms J Botteley MCSP, 24 High Street, Henley in Arden, West Midlands 895 5AN.
