FEBRUARY 10, 1989 VOLUME 75, No 2

JOURNAL O F THE CHARTERED S O C I E T Y O F P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y

14 BEDFORD ROW, LONDON WClR 4ED. TELEPHONE 01-242 1941 FAX 01-831 4509

news West Midlands Education Report 'Narrow and Short-sighted'

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has rejected as 'disappointingly narrow and short-sighted' the proposals put forward by the West Midlands Regional Training Council in its second report on physiotherapy education in the Region.

The CSP says the report has improved very little on the 'wholly inadequate' first report which proposed the closure of both the Oswestry and Coventry physiotherapy training schools.

While appearing to accept that the total number of training places in the Region should not be reduced, it still puts in doubt the future of two schools, at Oswestry and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham. This, says the Society, is very short-sighted considering the recognised national shortage of physiotherapists (9.1 %).

The West Midlands Region itself has the second highest number of funded vacancies

in the UK; a shortfall of 111 Chartered physiotherapists. Its proposals will also create significant damage from 'planning blight' t o the two schools involved.

'We want to see the Region build on the very high standards achieved by the schools, expand its contribution to meeting the national shortage of physiotherapists, and adopt a forward-looking educational approach based on the linking of physio- therapy schools with universities, poly- .technics and other colleges,' Mr Toby Simon, CSP Secretary, said in a national press statement.

He called for 'an end to the fruitless attempts to find excuses to close schools without justification'. The chief executive of the NHS Management Board had told regions that to take precipitate action to close schools would be irresponsible. The CSP agreed.

Co-opted Members Needed for FAB The Fellowship Advisory Board is looking

for co-opted members. The Board is comprised of Fellows, physio-

therapists with higher academic qualifi- cations which includes a member from a higher educational institute, and members

Rabies Jabs Now Free for Work Abroad

GPs can now offer rabies vaccination on the NHS to patients going to work in countries where the virus exists.

The Department of Health has confirmed that teachers and voluntary workers are among the risk groups entitled to free rabies protection.

Previously the vaccine was available free only to those who worked in high-risk jobs in Britain.

of the Council. Up to three co-options are possible and at the moment the Board is looking to fill two seats.

The Board meets twice-yearly to consider applications for Fellowship by way of thesis, dissertation and monograph, and increas- ingly applications from members nominating other members who have made an excep- tional contribution to the profession.

Details of the Board and its function are available from the director of the Professional Affairs Department.

Anybody interested is invited to send a CV to be received by Friday, March 3, to enable a selection to be made at the Board meeting' later that month.

Applications should be sent to Mrs P R Robinson MCSP, Director, Professional Affairs Department, 14 Bedford Row, London WClR 4ED.

Registrar Designated for CPSM Mr Roderick Pickis M A has been

appointed registrar designate of the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine from July 1. In the autumn of this year he will succeed as registrar Mr Frank Whitehill, who will then be retiring.

Mr Pickis, a graduate of Wadham College, Oxford, has held office in the Department of Health since 1961, and for the last five years has been responsible for liaison with CPSM, the Privy Council, and with six of the seven professions supplementary to medicine.

South West Thames Board Miss Catherine Van de Ven has been

elected South West Thames Board Repre- sentative to Council.

Resource Distribution Health Circular HC(88)66 (finance)

announces the distribution of NHS resources to Regions in 1989-90. The amount avail- able for spending on hospital and community health services in this period is 8.4% higher than for 1988-89. Allowing for growth in separately identified funds and an estimated inflation rate of 5%, this represents an increase of 2.7% in real terms for main revenue allocations.

Regions are now calculating resource distribution to District Health Authorities for the same period.

Director of Education John Huntington, director of education,

has left the Chartered Society to pursue a career in educational consultancy.

Miss Joan Piercy BA FCSP DipTP. formerly principal of The London Hospital School of Physiotherapy, has kindly agreed to serve as acting director of education on a part-time basis pending a permanent appointment.

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Problem-based Distance Learning for Physiotherapists Angie Titchen MA MCSP, freelance

education consultant for the health professions and former continuing education consultant for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, has recently completed an investigation in Australia. The study, made possible by the award of the Churchill Fellowship, explored the feasibility of marrying problem-based learning and distance education, in the design of continuing education for physiotherapists.

Problem-based learning is a radical departure from traditional education. There have been a few experiments with this innovative approach in the UK, but Australia, along with Canada, the USA and the Netherlands, is leading the way. Australia, too, due to the geographical isolation of its non-urban population, has developed distance education for those unable to attend programmes and courses at educational institutions. Although geographical isolation is a problem only in parts of the UK, professional isolation can exist, even in cities, where a therapist may be working sole-charge in a small hospital, health centre or clinic. With financial cutbacks, physiotherapists have also faced

French Minister of State Monsieur Michel Gillibert, French State

Secretary attached to the Ministry of Solidarity, Health and Social Protection with responsibility for the Disabled and Casualties of Life, visited the Queen Elizabeth's foundation for the Disabled Centre at Banstead, Surrey, last month. M Gillibert is himself disabled.

The Minister was met by Mrs Morigue Cornwell MBE MCSP, Banstead Place's mobility officer, who showed him how the centre helps the handicapped, particularly those anxious to achieve outdoor mobility.

increasing difficulty obtaining funds and study leave for courses to update their knowledge and competence. Ms' Titchen proposed that the availability of distance learning materials, for use by small groups of therapists in their workplace, would help to alleviate these obstacles.

Visiting educational institutions in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, Ms Titchen found that Australian educators have not only refined the production of written learning materials, but have also harnessed the latest information technology to increase interaction between students, tutor and learning materials, and student and student. Distance education centres have set up electronic mailing, computer bulletin board and fax facilities, together with audio and video teleconferencing to bring health professionals together for trouble-shooting and problem-solving sessions.

Satellite broadcasting has been used in Queensland for the continuing education of doctors, nurses and speech therapists. Participants are able to telephone in to ask questions or to respond to problems posed by the expert in the studio. However, the

Visits Banstead Mouvement de Defense des Grands Accidentes de la Vie (movement for the defence of life's major casualties). M Gillibert was appointed State Secretary in June 1988.

During his visit, M Gillibert said: 'I consider that Britain leads the world in helping the handicapped and the good reputation of Banstead is well known in Europe. What I have seen here today, I hope will be introduced in France in the future.'

Banstead Place Mobility Centre was established in May 1982 'to assist disabled

M Gillibert was shown a specially equipped people to achieve an optimum level of Ford Cargo truck containing sophisticated outdoor mobility which would enrich the

cost of this technology limits its use to areas where pictures greatly enhance the learning experiences.

The study of Australian undergraduate, problem-based courses in nursing, orthoptics and medicine and the post- graduate Family Medicine Programme convinced Ms Titchen that patient manage- ment problems could be effectively used in the development of distance learning in the UK.

It was clear that the success of distance education in Australia is largely due to the infrastructures funded by the Government which provide: the necessary technology; advice from educationists on curriculum design and the preparation of materials; and the production, printing, marketing and distribution of the materials.

To develop continuing education programmes which allow reflection on practice and group and self-directed learning, Ms Titchen recommends that an action research project should be set up by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Suggestions on how this could be achieved will be presented in a full repdrt to the Society in the spring.

Insider is New NHS Chief Mr Duncan Nichol succeeds Mr Len Peach

as chief executive of the NHS Management Board this month. Formerly general manager of Mersey Regional Health Authority, Mr Nichol was already a non-executive director of the board. Appointment of an insider rather than a candidate from industry (as Mr Peach and his predecessor Mr Victor Paige were) is seen as an indication that Ministers wish to retain firm central control of the NHS.

Mr Nichol, aged 47, has said he will fight for maximum freedom for managers to imdement reforms.

electronicequipment designed to- assess the ability of disabled people to drive and to find suitable vehicle conversions to help them to do so. It travels round the country, so that clients do not need to journey to Banstead.

M Gillibert was involved in a helicopter crash in 1979 which left him paralysed in all four limbs. In 1982 he founded the

quality of their working and social life'. Ford has supported the centre for the past four years. Over 2,500 assessments have been carried out since the centre opened.

Shown here: Monsieur Gillibert with Mrs MorigueCornwellMBEMCSPlextremeright)

Membership Cards Delay A Message from the Director of Finance and Administration I apologise for the delay in sending out membership cards to some members. The cause of this delay is a sequence of minor problems with the new computer system: the system itself is a good one but the series of small problems has had the combined effect of preventing various areas of work being done on schedule. This has resulted in a good deal of frustration for the staff of Membership Department to whom I would like to pay public tribute for their patience and forebearance in what has been a trying period for them.

The inconvenience which members have suffered is much regretted but I hope and expect that by the time this notice appears in print the problems referred to above will have been overcome.

JIM BANBURY 0 Mr Mike Sawford BA MCSP, supei dent physiotherapist at Kettering G Hospital, Northants, has recently appointed a Justice of the Peace.

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90 Physiotherapy, February 1989, vol75, no 2

PROCEEDINGS OF THE CPSM PHYSIOTHERAPISTS BOARD Membership of the Board

The Board noted that Dr R Cooper would not be standing for re-nomination and would, therefore, retire as at January 31, 1989. The Board placed on record its appreciation of Dr Cooper's contribution to its work.

Dr Cooper's place will be taken by Mr George Valentine, who has been nominated by the Department of Education and Science as an educationist. Mr Valentine is a senior lecturer in physiotherapy at Queen's College Glasgow.

Mrs S Clifton informed the Board that she would not be standing for re-election and would therefore retire from the Board on March 31, 1989. The Board placed on record its appreciation of her work for it.

The loss of these experienced and valuable members will be felt by the Board, but members were very pleased to receive the offer of continued service as visitors from Dr Cooper and Mrs Clifton.

Visitors' Workshop in Nottingham December 2-3, 1988

The Board expressed its thanks to the CSP for the value and success of the workshop.

The only issue of serious concern raised was the difficulties caused by Nottingham's traffic1 The Board felt this exercise had been a model of good organisation and of properly integrated working relations between the State registration body and the professional body. It was very much hoped future similar workshops would be held again.

Department of Education and Science White Paper on Student Loads

The Board discussed a paper on its (and the CPSM's) proposed response to the White Paper together with the CSP's views. It was the first occasion any member could recall when the Board had in fact reacted to a White Paper. The Board defined its interest and remit in terms of it being appropriate for itself as a national forum to offer to the DES views on the implications for health care students of the White Paper proposals. The Board also noted that the proposals could prejudice the standards and (numerical) viability of courses.

The Board specifically asked that reference be made in the Council's response to women (who form the majority of entrants to schools) having been shown in the USA to be disproportionately discouraged by loans.

Registration In September 1988 there were 21,988

physiotherapists on the Register compared with 21,174 a year earlier, enabling the physiotherapists to remain the largest profession coming within the Council.

Physiotherapists Board Election Mr R A Charman MCSP DipTP, senior

teacher, School of Physiotherapy, Combined Training Institute, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, has been nominated to stand for the Physiotherapists Board. His alternate is Nerys Myfanwy Hughes MBE MCSP, District physiotherapist for Clwyd.

GROUP NEWS OCPPP Insurance

The Christmas issue of In Touch, the journal of the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice, contained an error on page 8. Paragraph 4 on insurance should have read:

'OCPPP has negotiated a further €500,000 Professional Liability Insurance cover, thereby increasing the overall cover available t o all OCPPP members t o €1,000,000.

ACPOG The Association of Chartered Physiother-

apists in Obstetrics and Gynaecology has recently produced a series of eight A2 sized posters that give illustrated guidance on being comfortable during pregnancy and labour, and with a baby.

They are brightly coloured and would be a useful visual aid at health fairs and open

Digging for Physiotherapy The Mayoress of Winchester, Mrs Alison

Hall MCSP, sells produce from her garden to raise funds for a hydrotherapy pool at a local . . . school, Missions to Seamen and Winchester days.

by Farley's, can be obtained from: Farley's shown here taking supplies to the Queen ,Be Comfortable, oosters, Box 12, community physiotherapy service. She is The complete set of posters, sponsored

Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, where she works part-time. Photograph: Southern Newspapers PLC.

Nottingham NG7 '2GB. Please enclose cheque or postal order for €1.75 payable to 'Farley's Poster Offer'.

OBITUARIES Alderman Stanley Mayne

Stanley Mayne died on December 4, 1988, after several years of severe illness that confined him to a house-bound wheelchair life.

Stanley was, early in his career, a Civil Servant at the Ministry of Health. He worked on the creation of Whitley Councils, and later left to become general secretary of the Institution of Professional Civil Servants. Just about that time he was invited to come to a CSP Salaries Committee meeting to advise us on how we could fight the stalemate of PT'A' negotiations of the early 1960s.

He decided to join us as honorary salaries negotiator and later chairman of the PT'A' Whitley Council Staff Side. This work he continued for 12 years, finally retiring in 1973. He taught us to be more aggressive

and to realise that physiotherapists alone would not be able to compete in the new 'union' world of the NHS. After he had left we were able to obtain the first independent review under Lord Halsbury which gave most paramedical staff a salary rise of about 90%1 We also accepted the need for an Industrial Relations Department to take us into the future.

Stanley was a great character, standing well over six feet tall, and had a ready wit, which lessened the tension in many a stormy meeting. It is difficult to realise, today, that when he came to help us we were earning less than €800 a year (on the top grade) and by 1974 that was over €8,000.

We all owe him a great debt. He gave all of his time freely and showed us the way to the future.

MKP

Mrs Doreen Evans MCSP Mrs Doreen Evans died, aged 48, on

November 11, 1988, after a long, brave fight against cancer.

She will be sadly missed by all her colleagues in the West Midlands, her many general practitioner colleagues in Sandwell, but most of all by the numerous patients who have benefited by her caring skillful professionalism.

Doreen trained at Cardiff School of Physio- therapy and qualified in 1960. Subsequently she became superintendent at Highcroft Hospital in 1976 where she was responsible for the development of the psychiatry service to North Birmingham which today is regarded nationally as a centre of excellence in this field.

In 1982 she came to Sandwell to take up the post of community superintendent physiotherapist and became a major driving force in the establishment and development of community physiotherapy services for the Borough. Throughout her professional career she was deeply interested in physiotherapy education and undertook personally the

clinical supervision of students from local training schools. She was invited to become an examiner for the Queen Elizabeth School of Physiotherapy; but, sadly, her illness prevented her carrying out this role.

During her period as community superin- tendent she became a valued member of the Health Advisory Service, chairman of the Local Association of Community Physio- therapists in the West Midlands, and set up a special interest group in mobilisation techniques.

It was no surprise to those who knew Doreen when she was elected chairman of the National Baptist Ministers Wives Association since the qualities of en- thusiasm, devotion and caring that were so evident throughout her professional career were an expression of strong Christian commitment, which accounted also for the encouragement and support she gave to so many fellow-sufferers from cancer. She was a vital personality of great integrity, leading by example and working through considerable discomfort to the

DTH last.

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