End of an era

In 1919 a group of blind physios formed the Association of Blind Chartered Physiotherapists (ABCP) to provide support and act as a pressure group.  Over the next 105 years the ABCP - latterly the Association of Visually Impaired Chartered Physiotherapists (AVICP) – supported thousands of blind and visually impaired (VI) physios through their training and careers.

This included vibrant peer support and bespoke courses.  

A comprehensive history can be read in the excellent paper by Robert Jones, past chair of the CSP. 

In 1979 Queen Elizabeth opened the North London School based at the Whittington Hospital.  Over the years VI physios have provided high quality interventions in all areas of physiotherapy and have fought for disabled rights.  

Over the last 20 years, however, the changing role, increasing demands and Covid-19 had a significant input on the way we work. The numbers of VI students has sadly decreased. Due to this, the AVICP has taken the sad and difficult decision to close. We held our last emotional and difficult EGM in April, sharing memories and experiences. A number of donations were made with our last monies to various charities, including the CSP Benevolent Fund.  

We still exist as an informal peer support group but will no longer hold the legal status of being a registered charity. We still have good representation within the CSP DisAbility Network and continue to encourage and support current and prospective VI students or established physios who find themselves in the challenging position of struggling with sight loss. 

The CSP Enquiries team has contact details for myself.

I really want to acknowledge the work and commitment of all current and past blind and VI physiotherapists who paved the way and kept the torch burning bright.