Make the case for rehab

Rehabilitation Awareness Week takes place from 14–20 September and aims to shine a spotlight on the value of rehabilitation and the difference it makes to people’s lives.

With one month to go, CSP members can help make sure rehabilitation gets the recognition it deserves by encouraging their employers and communications teams to support the week.

Ask your communications team to get involved

Your communications team will already be planning ahead for September, so now is a good time to get in touch and ask them to include Rehabilitation Awareness Week in their communications.

You can help by suggesting stories or examples they could feature. For example:

• a patient story showing what rehabilitation has helped someone achieve
• a new or innovative way your service is working
• a member of the team whose work deserves recognition
• an example of how rehabilitation is improving outcomes locally
• an important message about access to rehabilitation that you want more people to understand.

Your communications team may then be able to turn these into content for your organisation’s website, intranet, newsletters or social media channels, or explore opportunities for photography, video, senior leadership messages or local media coverage.

Even one story or social media post from your organisation can help rehabilitation reach a much wider audience.

We have created a downloadable letter template that you can adapt and send to your organisation’s communications team.

Add a few details about your service and a patient or service story you could offer, then send it to your communications colleagues now so they have time to include rehabilitation in their plans for September:

Use the week to make the case for rehab

Rehabilitation Awareness Week is not only an opportunity to celebrate what services achieve. It is also a chance to influence how rehabilitation is understood and valued.

Whether you are working with your communications team or sharing content yourself, focus on why rehabilitation matters. Show what it enables people to do – whether that is returning home, getting back to work, managing a long-term condition, regaining independence or participating in everyday life.

The Rehabilitation Awareness Week toolkit includes resources and ready-to-use social media assets to help you get involved. You could:

• share campaign assets on your own social media channels
• post about why rehabilitation matters to you, your patients or your service
• share examples of the difference rehabilitation is making locally
• encourage colleagues to get involved
• display campaign materials in your workplace
• like, comment on and share CSP and colleague posts to help them reach more people.

Remember to use #RehabAwarenessWeek and #RightToRehab, and tag the CSP where appropriate so we can help amplify activity from members across the UK.

Share your stories with us

The CSP is also always looking for great examples of rehabilitation work to celebrate and promote. If your team has a patient story, case study, service improvement or example of good practice that demonstrates the value of rehabilitation, we would love to hear about it. 

Share your examples with us at cre@csp.org.uk – there may be opportunities to showcase your work more widely through CSP communications and campaign channels.

If you are sharing patient or service-user stories, remember to follow your organisation’s usual consent and communications procedures before sharing any personal information, quotes, photographs or videos.

With just one month to go, now is the time to start the conversation. Every story, conversation and post can help more people understand the value of rehabilitation and strengthen the case for everyone to have the #RightToRehab.

Rehabilitation Awareness Week takes place from 14–20 September.