Take part in rehabilitation awareness week

You do not need to organise a big event to take part. Small, visible actions from members and teams can make a real difference. A photo from your service, a patient quote, a short video, a poster in your workplace or a post on social media can all help people understand what rehabilitation means in practice.

This week is about telling the story of rehab through the people who deliver it and the people who benefit from it. You could share what your team is proud of, what timely rehab helps people do, or what patients risk losing when services are stretched or delayed. A short 30–60 second video can be a powerful way to explain why rehab matters in your setting.

You can also support the CSP’s Right to Rehab campaign by re-sharing one of our campaign films or social media posts. Add a local message about your own service, such as:

'Rehab changes lives every day in our service. This #RehabAwarenessWeek we’re supporting #RightToRehab because everyone should be able to access the rehab they need, when they need it.'

Make a difference

Patient and service user stories can be especially powerful. You might share a short quote about what rehabilitation helped someone achieve – from walking to the shops, to managing at home, returning to work, or feeling more like themselves again. Please make sure you have the right consent and permission before using any patient stories, quotes, images or videos.

Rehabilitation Awareness Week is also a good moment to raise the profile of your service locally. You could send a short patient story or service example to your organisation’s communications team, senior leaders, trust board or local system leads. Explain what the person needed help with, what rehab enabled them to do, the difference timely support made, and what your service needs to help more people.

Influence decision makers

Some members may want to invite a local decision maker to visit their service – such as an MP, councillor, ICB lead, trust leader or other local system leader. A visit, conversation or photo opportunity can help show the value of rehab, the pressures services are under, and the skill of the physiotherapy workforce. Please follow your organisation’s usual processes for visits, media, consent and photography.

There are plenty of other ways to get involved. You could put up a display, run a lunchtime Q&A, hold a patient information stall, organise a team awareness session, or celebrate the contribution of your local rehab service. Use the CSP posters and resources in the Rehab Awareness Week toolkit to support your activity.

Your voice matters

However you take part, your voice matters. Every post, conversation and local action helps show why rehabilitation must be recognised, protected and invested in.

For support with local activity, speak to your CSP steward where you have one, or contact communityrehab@csp.org.uk.