9 7 G

European Com mu n i t y Directive inatio at ions of the now Published French Val idat ion Matters The Board received a very positive report regulations. The Board noted the developments

which would be likely to occur over the .The advisory committee would report of the validation training day held last spring and early summer concerning back on implications in the French, October. Real progress had been made in progress on the EC directive on the mutual Portuguese, and Spanish regulations. liaising better with universities. recognition of higher education diplomas. .The CPSM would be convening a con- ference of all the members of the relevant registration or advisory committees. .The Department of Trade and Industry was seeking clarification of the

.Although negotiations were currently suspended it was likely that progress would be resumed to bring the EFTA countries within the terms of the Directive in January 1993 (except Switzerland which would have a derogation until 1995).

Degrees were recommended to the Privy Council from: Oswestry and Staffordshire, Salford, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. The Salford degree is d n w development, being a four-year part-time course sponsored by the Football Association.

An exceptionally high attendance was welcomed by the chairman, who greeted Mr P Racle as North West Board alternate. Miss Ann Hunter represented the Association of District and Superintendent Chartered Physiotherapists and Mrs S Purves the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice. Mrs J Reilly and Mrs S R Watts, Liverpool Branch representatives to the Mersey Board, Mrs S Bazin of Solihull, and Mrs R Woodley, South East Thames Board alternate, also attended as observers. Several members of staff also attended for all or part of the day.

Apologies were received from Mrs J Ryder, Dr A Shepherd, Mr G Smith and Miss E Thornton.

The recent resignation of Professor C M Castleden was received with regret. It was reported that Miss A Skinner had been elected as North West Thames Board representative following the resignation of Mrs E O’Neill, and Miss Skinner was elected to the vacancy caused by that resignation on the Ethical and Regulatory Committee.

Chairman’s Report Mrs Phillips reported an unusually quiet

start to the year. Her official engagements had started on January 6 when with colleagues she met the Department of Health Inter-professional Audit Group in Nottingham. On January 15 she had been a guest at a reception given by the National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts.

Two meetings had been held with representatives of the College of Occup- ational Therapists and the College of Speech and Language Therapists on the subjects of management issues and skill

:mix. The aim was to produce statements of good practice in the event of one profession being managed by a member of another therapy profession. Mrs Phillips had attended a King’s Fund conference on Health in Europe dealing with practical problems of implementing the EC

The first meeting of the calendar year, on March 11 at the CSP offices, found Council members agreeing to several important moves. Council supported a proposal to affiliate to the TUC and agreed to ballot all subscribing members, including students. It was decided to establish a Research Development Group, and to confirm policy on skill mix. The meeting ended with a pleasing picture of vans driving all over Britain to pick up equipment which members were sending to Malawi. Mrs Patricia Phillips, chairman of Council, presided..

Directives. She had also travelled to Barcelona on February 13 with Mrs Condie and Mrs Allchurch for the WCPT-Europe general meeting.

On February 21 the Association of District and Superintendent Chartered Physiotherapists, the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice, and the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Independent Hospitals had held an up-dating meeting in which the CSP chairman and vice-chairman had taken part.

Lord Holderness, chairman of the Department of Health Advisory Group on Rehabilitation, had visited the CSP offices on February 27 to discuss physiotherapy input to rehabilitation with the chairman and colleagues, and it was hoped this consultation would be on-going (see also Professional Practice Committee report).

Secretary’s Report Toby Simon, CSP Secretary, reported

that the Osteopaths Bill, which aimed at State registration for osteopaths, had received a second reading in the House of Commons.

He also reported on giving oral evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Health. Members of several professions allied to medicine had expressed some concern about industrial relations practices of NHS Trusts, the best way to assess their success (or otherwise), and the need for confidence between general managers and professional staff. A complete written transcript would be sent to all Council members when it bekame available.

Policy and Resources Committee Patricia McCoy, chairman of the

committee, presented the accounts for 1991, which showed a satisfactory situation, the surplus being almost exactly as budgeted. Council approved the accounts and authorised the chairman and vice- chairman to sign them as correct.

Council considered a proposal for the organisation of the Society’s work in research which had been drafted by the Education Committee and modified in discussion within other committees.

It was agreed to form a Research Development Group with membership nominated from various committees. Its first meeting is in April and its initial terms of reference are:

To recommend practical means by which the Society can implement the priorities outlined in the research policy statement. .To consider ways in which the Society’s research commitment can best be structured, directed and publicised. .To consider the most appropriate means of discussing and disseminating research issues within the Society’s representative and committee structures.

With regard to research as a whole, standiog committees felt that the exp rtise

Physiotherapy Research Foundation should not be lost. It was intended to invite its members, who had resigned from that committee, to serve in other ways. Co- options from the wider research community might also be sought.

Council also considered and approved a policy statement on research, with a number of amendments.

Recommendations on changes to the structure of Council were agreed in principle (see panel), but after some ambiguities were pointed out, they were withdrawn for re-phrasing.

of the Research Committee o P the

Future Composition of Council

Nationally elected:

research Four members in teaching or

Four self-employed members Twelve members who are

otherwise employed Two students

One for each NHS region One for Wales One for Northern Ireland Two for Scotland

Up to eight co-opted members (though places formerly held by doctors will not be filled as they become vacant) Possibility of one nominated member

Board Representatives:

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Progress with plans for the Society’s Centenary in 1994 was reported. Many ideas were not yet finalised but Council emphatically approved of two sugges- tions - the logo, and the proposal to commission chains of office for the president, chairman and vice-chairman of the Society. For many years members have felt their officers were at a disadvantage in gatherings where the representatives of other organisations wore chains, while the Society’s insignia are suspended on ribbons.

A short paper, but important to those affected by it, proposed that all full subscribing (category 6) members, regardless of where they qualified, should be given the same professional liability insurance coverage. This was agreed, so that overseas trained members are now also indemnified up to fl million, except in North America.

Service Management Group The suggestion by the Service

Management Group that a further bid to the Department of Health for f12,500 should be made to continue the physio- therapy input to the Read coding project had been agreed. A further year should be spent on continuing the work with the Clinical Interest Groups, and consideration should be given to piloting physiotherapy sets at specific sites. The group believed it was important to continue to be involved in the project to ensure that anything which was included relating to physiotherapy was correct. CSP funds would not be spent on the project and CIG time would also be limited to a reasonable level.

The Service Management Group had also considered further the Society’s input to the provision of, professional advice to purchasers. Briefing papers giving guidance and support to members were to be put together.

lnternational Affairs An informal meeting had been held on

January 29 of the Society’s international affairs representatives with the chairman of Council and officers. This informal group will have regular meetings in order to nurture the interest of those wishing to become involved in the international arena.

In November 1990 the CSP had agreed to make a donation of f2,000 to the WCPT- Europe Research Fund which enabled assistance to be given to eastern European countries in particular and fund links with the African section of WCPT. It had a similar request for 1992. A further donation of €2,000 was agreed but this year a report of the outcomes was requested. Any further decisions will be based on this information.

The Journal Committee had decided the information from the WCPT-Europe newsletters would form part of regular reports in Physiotherapy on international matters (see page 286).

Public Relations The director of public relations, Stuart

Skyte, summed up the previous year in his report to the committee. In 1991 his department had issued 122 press releases and printed some 250,000 items of publicity

material. Publications, mainly advice leaflets, worth more than f4,000 had been sold. The money saved through desk-top typesetting was going towards more colour and better quality paper for the pub- lications. Merchandise worth f4,200 had also been sold and plans for new styles were in hand.

The first physiotherapy day in 1992, ‘Physiotherapy and Children’ on May 19, was also featured (see page 282).

Education Committee .The chairman of the committee, Julia

Lamb, presented its report of action taken. Careers literature was being prepared

and a workshop planned to help physiotherapy students with disabilities. The committee felt that managers and educators should work together to help admissions tutors judge the suitablity of disabled applicants to be physiotherapy students and to work subsequently as physiotherapists.

Academic study routes within the PACE scheme were being developed and Council members were pleased to see the leaflet being distributed with the March issue of Physiotherapy A small working group had been formed to over- see the current phase of development.

The Education Committee had looked at the numbers of new schools of physiotherapy being opened and the consequent mergers and closure of others, and hoped that the interests of teachers in established schools would be born in mind.

It was noted that the West Midlands RHA planned to reduce its annual physiotherapy student intake from 136 to 60 eventually, and the Yorkshire RHA also intended to reduce student numbers.

Council members expressed concern about adequate placements and funding for students in newly located schools. The CSP director of education, Alan Walker, assured them that a course had to be approved by the Joint Validation Panel, and a criterion for that was adequate placements.

Industrial Relations Committee The director of industrial relations, David

Fleming, gave a half-hour presentation on affiliation to the Trades Union Congress. A paper on this is published in this issue (see overleaf). He pointed out that in the past two years there had been a marked shift from national negotiations between the Department of Health and the Whitley Council, to local bargaining between small groups of staff and management units.

A suggestion from the Yorkshire Board, reported by Sue Rumbold, that all the professions allied to medicine might unite for industrial relations purposes, was dismissed as unlikely.

Mr Fleming reassured members that the industrial relations staff and CSP stewards would negotiate on their behalf in just the same way whether or not the Society was affiliated to the TUC. It was a question of whether they could do this from a position of greater strength.

Sasha Mayes asked whether students could be included in the ballot, since they would be affected by the‘outcome

as soon as they qualified. Council voted overwhelmingly to include students in the ballot.

Asking about the Pay Review Body, Alison White was told that its future was not threatened at present, but it could only negotiate basic rates, while local bargaining would be more widespread. This change would not be affected by a relationship with the TUC.

Tina Trew asked i f the TUC delegates would be Council members - the answer was not necesarily, but they would be chosen under the direction of Council.

The chairman of the IR Committee, William Gilchrist, assured members that if the CSP did affiliate it would not be swallowed up. He also pointed out that if members left the Chartered Society in protest, there were no other appropriate unions to join which were not already affiliated to the TUC. Mr Gilchrist emphasised that he did not wish to see the Society split into divisions by this issue.

Pennie Roberts agreed: ‘Health is now a political issue and we must consider it.’

After this fact-finding debate, members agreed that the discussion paper as presented should be sent to members with the ballot paper, and that the ballot should be carried out by the Electoral Reform Society among all subscribing members and associates.

Council agreed that the advantages of affiliation to the TUC outweighed the disadvantages and concluded that it was in the best interests of members to seek affiliation to the TUC. It urged members to vote and if a straight majority agree, the Society will affiliate.

Professional Practice Committee A paper on skill mix in the NHS was the

main feature of the report agreed by all the committees concerned. Members thought that it was so useful in showing a way forward that it should be published in Physiotherapy (see pages 271 -273), issued as a briefing paper and made the subject of a press release.

Pennie Roberts, vice-chairman of the committee, presented its report. The Department of Health Advisory Group on Rehabilitation had met twice and had identified three major concerns: wheelchairs, artificial limbs and physical disability. The chairman, Lord Holderness, was proposing to split the advisory group into smaller sections which would each investigate one area. Marilyn Harrison, the Society’s representative on the group, was encouraged to find that models of care other than the medical one were being discussed. She had pointed out that the ad hoc way of looking for ‘centres of excellence’ was fallible, relying too much on hearsay evidence, and advocated the development of a protocol for collecting information to identify such centres.

It was reported that the Electrotherapy Steering Group had largely completed the tasks detailed in its original terms of reference. Its current work dealt with health and safety, and education and research, which could be incorporated in the remit of other groups.

It was therefore decided that the Electrotherapy Steering Group would disband in six months’ time, with its health

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and safety responsibilities transferred to the Health and Safety Sub-committee of the Industrial Relations Committee, which includes two representatives from the Professional Practice Committee.

Journal Committee The new-look Journal was presented by

the chairman of the committee, Caroline Smith, who complained of a resounding silence from readers about its changed appearance. Council members retorted that the executive editor’s January leader had asked members to wait for a few months before stating their views! Some opinions were voiced at the meeting; these and other reactions will be discussed at the next Journal Committee meeting.

One feature to be retained is ‘Personal View‘, where members can write at greater length than in a letter, but without having to undergo the refereeing procedures. Members are invited to send in their views on any subject they wish, linked with physiotherapy.

On the international front, it was reported that the scientific editor is writing to all the schools of physiotherapy in American and Canadian universities, drawing attention to the merits of the redesigned Journal. The aim is to raise the profile of Physiotherapy and increase the circulation.

Other groups of non-MCSPs will be targeted when the content of individual issues is in their fields of interest.

The committee decided that an edited version of WCPT-Europe newsletters should be published in Physiotherapy in order to bring them to the attention of as many members as possible. The International Affairs Section would be

asked to provide a special column of international news to coincide with these features.

Sixteen entries had been received for the Journal Prize, of which three were from students.

It was decided to award the prize in the category for qualified members to a case study by Miss Alison Gallon.

Because of the low numbers in the student category the panel chose not to make an award in that section this year.

Members’ Benevolent Fund At the last meeting of Council it had been

suggested that the Fund’s title was outmoded. As a member of the committee, Kathryn Delpak reported that it did not agree and if Council wished to change the name, it should suggest some alternative titles.

During discussion, widespread lack of knowledge about the Fund, its resources and powers were revealed.

Some members thought that students should be helped or counselled by the MBF Committee, but Mr Walker took the view that adequate financial provision should be made by government agencies.

Council finally asked the MBF Committee to review its role and how it sees its work, and present a fuller report to the next meeting. In the previous quarter the fund had made winter and Easter gifts totalling €350 each to 23 beneficiaries, considered four new cases, and reviewed 13.

Donations, commission, interest and three legacies received during the three months ended December 31, 1991, amounted to €11.494.30.

Board Representatives’ Meeting Bridget Davis, who had chaired the

Board representatives’ meeting earlier that day, brought forward members’ concern for the continuing viability of some Branches. Although this was a feature in many similar organisations, members blamed various factors such as on-call work, the appeal of Specific Interest Groups, the need for stewards, and ignorance of committee procedures, for the lack of volunteers to join Branch committees. However, no concrete solutions were proposed, apart from the enthusiastic participation of Council members in Branch meetings.

Miss Davis also reported discussion about the procedure for endorsement of some candidates for the CPSM Physio- therapists Board. It was agreed to ask the Policy and Resources Committee to reconsider the system.

Project Malawi Jennie Collins reported that vans were

travelling the country the following weekend picking up unwanted equipment from Board co-ordinators and delivering it to a destination in Perth, where it would be packed into two double-decker buses (without seats) for onward transport to Malawi.

Elizabeth Condie said that some Boards still had to nominate co-ordinators (for full details of the scheme see Physiotherapy, December 1991, page 837). The first consignment had covered the majority of requests for equipment from Malawi and had generated a great deal of goodwill. Further items would be wanted and collected for a second phase of the undertaking.

BRIEFING PAPER

Why Should the Society Join the TUC? David Fleming CSP Director of Industrial Relations

At its last meeting (see report above) Council decided to ballot members on whether the Society should affiliate to the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Council further agreed to advise members that it felt affiliation was in the best interests of the Society. In order to give time for debate, and for Branches and other groups to organise meetings on the subject, it has been agreed that ballot papers will not be dispatched until June 5, with the closing date being July 17.

A full paper setting out the advantages and disadvantages of joining the TUC will be enclosed with ballot papers, with an advance copy being sent to Board and Branch secretaries, and to all stewards.

This paper, based largely on a presentation given to Council, sets out some of the background. The discussion document contained in the July 1991 Journal is still also relevant to this debate.

CSP as a Trade Union We start by looking at the Society’s position as a trade

union. This is written before the results of the election are known, but it seems likely that some of the changes in industrial relations practice in the Health Service are likely to continue whichever party is returned. In particular, the move away from centralised bargaining, which has been the pattern over the past forty years, towards increasing delegation of authority to local employers is likely to continue.

Centralised bargaining had the advantage of providing a national service covering pay and terms and conditions of service from a centralised core of resources within the Society. The role of stewards in backing up national agreements was primarily to deal with the problems of individuals, and to join with other unions in negotiating procedural agreements. The role of the industrial relations field staff was to provide training and support, and to act as advocates in exceptional cases and where there was no steward coverage, eg in independent hospitals, charities and so on.

Physiotherapy, April 1992, vol78, no 4