Latest Blogs
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How you can help support the Special Olympics
I hope you’ve all noticed through the media how well #TeamSOGB are getting along in Abu Dhabi. While we know that Special Olympics is about far more than just the medals, the guys in the squad have bought into and stuck by the values they themselves set out (below). Thus, they are reaping the rewards. So much so that GB have on a couple of occasions reached the top of the medals table. Again, I should point out that the celebration of Special Olympics competition isn’t primarily on the end goal of winning medals but the power of competition and sport to change lives. It gives a conduit through -
Special Olympic World Games athletes get the recognition as sportspeople they strive for
Hello everyone. Firstly and most importantly I must right a wrong in the previous blog post. Nicola Turner is indeed coach for artistic gymnastics, not athletics (sorry Nicola, can we be friends again?) So, the opening ceremony has come and gone and I think it's fair to say it was an exceptional experience! Inspirational words from athletes, Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver and others; meeting Sebastian Coe was a great experience for many of our athletes and, I think, they feel it gave them credibility as athletes. If you haven’t yet, you can download the ESPN player app and, without -
Physio heads to Abu Dhabi for Special Olympics
As I sit here it's snowing in parts of the UK and in spite of it being winter here, I’ve got factor 50 sun cream on. Right now, Aileen, myself, Nicola, Karen and Magalie are in the United Arab Emirates - travelling as part of a 180 strong delegation representing Great Britain. We are supporting athletes with intellectual disabilities (learning disabilities) or as they're referred to here, People of Determination, to compete in The Special Olympics World Summer Games. The lesser-known and non-government funded Special Olympics differs from the Olympics or Paralympics in so much as all athletes -
Are you working and under 27? Get in touch for TUC’s young workers month
November is the TUC’s young workers month, an opportunity to give special attention to the young workforce and young trade unionists. Next year the TUC and affiliated unions are stepping things up and running campaigning, organising and recruitment activity throughout the year . It’s a response to the stark numbers: less than eight percent of workers aged 16-24 are in a union. Not because the jobs that young workers do are well-paid, with fantastic conditions. To the contrary, for many young workers, it’s the opposite. And many are not aware of their rights at work. The issues facing young -
Physical inactivity: time to tackle a global health problem
A recent WHO report estimated that more than a quarter of people worldwide - 1.4 billion - are not doing enough physical exercise. In the UK, inactivity levels in 2016 were 36 per cent overall – 32 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women. We know that inactivity raises the risk of a raft of health problems, such as heart disease, type-2 diabetes and some cancers. So why is it that the amount of people not doing enough has barely risen since 2001? Our own polling echoes the WHO’s findings, revealing 30 per cent of people with long term conditions are completely inactive each week. Whether it’s -
NHS pay in England – what to expect now
As people receive their July pay packets, I am acutely aware of the complexity of the deal now beginning to be implemented for the England NHS and I know there has also been some recent confusion about what people can expect to receive and when. As a result, I thought it would be helpful to summarise the overall deal but in particular to highlight some useful new resources that should assist. The most complicated part of the agreement has always been the reform element, as 1 million NHS staff move from the old to the new pay and banding system, with a three-year transition period between the -
Unpacking the NHS pay offer
The CSP motto translates roughly as ‘pursue worthy aims’ and for me encapsulates perfectly what it means to be both a physiotherapist and a trade unionist. While working as a junior physiotherapist, I started out as a CSP steward 32 years ago and pursuing worthy aims was very much my goal. I wanted to help my patients, my colleagues and the NHS hospital in which I worked. NHS staff have kept the lights on during the toughest of times Fast forward to six months ago, when I joined other health trade unions to begin negotiating a new pay deal for NHS staff in England, that same feeling drove us -
Fraying at the edges...
I had no idea how interesting it would be, being a physiotherapist, watching my own body slide away. No, not weight loss, just a steady trickle of small things disappearing as age moves on. At 82 it is becoming more obvious and I have found it intriguing to realise that much of the loss is quietly and subtly neurological. Wish I had understood that when I was working years ago! (and a further ‘No’ - I don't think I have a neurological condition per se). So this is a report on my findings from the 'Far Side' of retirement. Maybe I should add that I am increasingly convinced that you cannot -
A royal hip draws media attention to the challenge of having a replacement
From time to time, my job is extraordinary - today was one of those times. A call from the CSP press team, and then the BBC and I was on my way to Broadcasting house to sit in a pod and talk to ten regional radio stations about the likely recovery and rehab for Prince Philip, following his hip surgery. Questions ranged from the risks of surgery at his age, to what would be included in a rehab programme to his likely attendance at Prince Harry’s wedding. The experience took me back in time to November 1995, when I was interviewed for ITN news, that time about the Queen Mother’s recent hip -
Team working makes a real difference
Team working is a critical part of the job in physiotherapy, whatever setting you work in and whatever role you have. Physio staff work together with other physio colleagues, allied health professionals and health and social care staff, day in day out. Collaboration and co-operation helps us to share work and responsibility, harness our individual contribution, skills and experience, and is essential to delivering quality and safe patient services. Team working is also an effective way to tackle employment issues in workplaces. That's the message Siân Caulfield and I, as CSP union organisers