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I want to take an opportunity to update where we are and what we will do in the future to ensure we don’t end up in the same place. For the latest HCPC renewal cycle ending in April 2022 the CSP were alerted to the fact that 5,311 physiotherapists had dropped off the HCPC register. Equating to around nine per cent of the registered physiotherapy population. At each renewal cycle as a profession we do have a drop of around 1,500 to 2,000 physiotherapists, but 5,311 was a significantly higher number than usual. After receiving these numbers we began to receive emails and telephone calls to our

In his presentation, Sajid Javid confirmed that digital is of huge importance to the health and social care sector and transformation in this area is critical to modernising services. He acknowledged that health and social care is currently following an unsustainable path and that it cannot continue like this, repeating a previous statement likening the NHS as “Blockbuster in the Netflix age”. He believes that digital transformation is the engine that will spearhead the change needed so we can better meet the public expectation, using the momentum gained in digital from the pandemic as the

Well what a joy to have spent a couple of days together face to face! To value the community of our physiotherapy profession. To experience that sense of belonging. I’ve missed this! The last few years have been very, very difficult for all of us and you, our members, have been at the forefront of dealing with the pandemic – I applaud and thank you. Our professional and personal lives have collided; we’ve put our resilience to the test and many of us have been ill and, tragically, lost loved ones. But as we come out of the Covid pandemic, I see and feel something even more pervasive than a

The 2022/23 specification, recently published in England, is part of the annual NHS GP Contract. It empowers general practice to improve the range of services it offers to its populations working in primary care networks (PCNs). Most FCPs in England are funded through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). The contract sets out the detailed requirements for reimbursement of all staff contracted or recruited under the ARRS. It sets clear expectations around the level of practice and role of an MSK FCP, the embedding of FCP in primary care and access to appropriate supervision and

Because Covid is a new disease, research and analysis of real world data are ongoing. Learning is therefore evolving. Even more than with other areas of medical science, there is therefore a need to make a judgement based on the best information available and to trust virologists, immunologists and public health clinicians when they give opinions. This briefing brings together information from multiple sources to explain our policy perspective on Covid vaccination. It is not a scientific review of evidence but uses readily available information to evidence four key CSP statements. Covid is a

Reports of the potential removal of British citizenship without notice are of deep concern. Since 1981 the law has allowed British citizenship to be removed from dual nationality if they are convicted criminals or on national security grounds. We have concerns about the potential inappropriate use of this existing power. We are also concerned that Clause 9 of the Nationality and Borders Bill could be abused to prevent people challenging decisions. Changes to the requirement to notify people of the intention to deprive them of citizenship under this clause have given rise to real anxiety and

Back in 2012 the CSP opposed the introduction of a competitive internal market into the English NHS. We were concerned about both the potential impact on services for patients from changing providers regularly and the potential impacts on members where tendering resulted in changes for them. However once the changes were made, many members said that they didn’t want constant change, so along with other unions and professional bodies we supported members to work within the system. Nearly a decade later the internal market systems has been shown to fail. In some areas contracts have been handed

Update – 21 February 2022 Following responses from the CSP, other trade unions, and stakeholders across the NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care has responded to their consultation. The government intends to proceed with the majority of its proposed changes, but will delay the implementation date from April to October 2022. The proposal will affect every pension scheme member differently, so it is important that you review the confirmed changes. The Westminster government is consulting on more changes to the NHS pension scheme in England and Wales, but this time, it’s on member

Budgets and spending reviews are rarely all good or all bad. Chancellors always try to do the illusionist’s trick of attracting attention to one element or another to divert attention from the less palatable decisions. This year the Chancellor tried to pull off the diversion in advance by selectively revealing elements of the Budget to the media. Health and care The Budget included extra health spending. As this was one of the areas pre-released, the CSP has already commented. But the detail yesterday revealed two major areas of concern: If it is enough to meet to meet Covid legacy and

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