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The CSP's active international role addresses a wide range of issues. Collaborative working with other key organisations helps in this achievement. Use this page to find out more.

Where does the CSP fit in internationally?

The CSP believes it is important that the representative voice of physiotherapy is heard internationally and, as such, the Society is committed to taking an active international role. As a relatively small organisation, however, both as a professional body and trade union, the CSP is unable to devote substantial financial or staffing resources to international issues.

Developing partnerships and working collaboratively is, therefore, very important to the Society. Collaborative working on international or global issues helps maximise our effectiveness in influencing policymakers and decision makers, aids and develops our knowledge and understanding, and enables the sharing of innovative practice.

Examples of where we work collaboratively on issues with an international or global reach encompass the professional, educational and trade union strands of the Society, as detailed below.

Professionally

Three organisations are central to our collaborative endeavours:

1. the World Health Organisation (WHO)
2. the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) and within that,
3. the European Region of WCPT (ER-WCPT)

World Health Organisation (WHO)

Founded in 1948, the World Health Organisation provides coordination and leadership within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health issues, shaping research, setting norms and standards, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. It is divided into six regions.

Website: www.who.int/en/

World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT)

Founded in 1951 the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) is a non- profit organisation comprising 101 Member Organisations, which together represent more than 300,000 physical therapists worldwide. The CSP was a founder member and continues to play an active role.

WCPT works to improve global health by:

• Encouraging the highest possible standard of culturally-appropriate, evidence based health care
• Encouraging high standards of research education and practice
• Collaborating with international and national organisations to represent and promote the profession
• Being an information resource for physical therapists

How can you contribute?

By visiting the WCPT website you can:

• join a discussion forum and contribute to sharing innovation and good practice - whether on international work and study; global health issues; professional, research or practice issues or any other issue of interest to the sub-groups of WCPT
• follow your specialist interest - sub-groups include acupuncture, older people, orthopaedic manipulative physical therapists, sport, paediatrics, women's health, private practice
• read the online newsletters
• draw on WCPT principles and position statements relevant to your own work
• get involved in special events such as World Physical Therapy Day on 8th September (annual)
• think ahead - take part in the WCPT Congress 2011 in Amsterdam: see below.

WCPT Congress

WCPT holds its Congress every four years. There is a General Meeting for business at the same time. Each Member Organisation (MO) may send three representatives to this. Council chooses the CSP delegation on the basis of international experience and involvement of its members. See more about WCPT Congress 2011 on this website.

Website: www.wcpt.org

European Region of WCPT (ER-WCPT)

ER-WCPT is one of five WCPT regions and includes 36 EU and non-EU countries. The CSP has representation on the Executive Committee (1st Vice chairman) and three working groups (education, professional issues and EU matters).

ER-WCPT holds a General Meeting for all its Member Organisations (MOs) every two years. Each MO can send three delegates. Council chooses the CSP delegation.

How can you contribute?

By visiting the ER-WCPTwebsite you can:

• Find information on working in other countries
• Read online newsletters
• Draw on ER-WCPT policies relating to your work
• Follow the progress of the two projects funded by the EU:
  • Pain in the Back: avoiding back pain in children and teenagers
  • Staying Clean: supporting smokers/ex-smokers in giving up will establish preventive guide exercise programmes for use across the EU.

Website: www.physio-europe.org/

Rehabilitation

The World Confederation for Physical Therapy works with the World Health Organisation on issues of common interest such as Community Based Rehabilitation and Stroke. There is strong collaboration with the Disability and Rehabilitation Team (WHO/DAR) - see more on the WHO website:www.who.int/disabilities/en/.

If you are planning to work abroad their website has a wide range of information to help you, including:

• The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: see www.afro.who.int/dnc/corpd/
• World Report on Disability and Rehabilitation: see www.who.int/disabilities/en/
• WHO Newsletter on Disability and Rehabilitation: see www.who.int/disabilities/publications/newsletter/en/
• Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR): see www.who.int/disabilities/cbr/en
• New Guidelines on the Provision of Manual Wheelchairs in less-resourced Settings: see www.who.int/disabilities/publications/technology/wheelchairguidelines/en/

WCPT representatives have collaborated with WHO on the 2003 review of Community Based Rehabilitation, the development of guidelines for implementing CBR and strengthening medical rehabilitation. At its 2007 Vancouver Congress WCPT approved a motion to strengthen collaboration with WHO on disaster management.

The regional representative of the Executive Committee of WCPT attends meetings of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe to monitor developments which impact on the profession. Visit their website to find out about health policy, health indicators and health systems across all European countries.

International Collaboration and the CSP

Under the auspices of the ER-WCPT the Society completed a three-year twinning arrangement with UNIFY - the Union of Physiotherapists of the Czech Republic - in 2003 which enriched both partners. Since then exchange visits with the Cyprus Association of Physiotherapists have taken place and representatives of the profession from Finland, India and Singapore have been welcomed.

Educationally

Current CSP work around education is giving strong consideration to European and international developments. These include increasing globalisation in patient need and health care delivery (and the implications of this for curriculum design) and changes and developments that are impacting on the academic and professional currency of UK physiotherapy qualifications within Europe and elsewhere.

The Society is also exploring how it can respond to increasing numbers of requests to lend its recognition to education with an international dimension (including programmes delivered overseas).

All these elements are reflected in the CSP's international strategy and are being taken forward in CSP programmes of work, including Charting the Future

.

Trade Union Activity

Through the CSP's affiliation to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the TUC's links with the European Trade Union Confederation and the International Trade Union Confederation, the CSP actively promotes employment, human and trade union rights and social justice.

The TUC's European Union and International Relations Department helps to keep the CSP informed of developments in employment issues at European level. An example of this is the Services Directive, a European Commission Directive designed to liberalise the movement of services across European Union Member States. The CSP was concerned at the possible consequences of the Directive for CSP members working in the NHS and, through the TUC, we were able to draw on the expertise of ETUC analysts and contribute to a campaign that eventually led to health services being exempt from the Services Directive.

We have also responded to consultations on the application of patients rights in cross-border healthcare and the European Health Workforce.

The international agenda lends itself to campaigning and the CSP is involved in a number of issues-based campaigns, many of which are member-led. Three examples of our international campaigning activity are:

• with Amnesty International - CSP members have expressed their opposition, as healthcare professionals, to the use of cluster bombs and land mines which maim and kill indiscriminately. The Society, which is affiliated to Amnesty International UK and has a seat on its Trade Union Network Committee, has signed up to Amnesty's Control Arms Campaign
• with Justice for Colombia, where member interest led to a very successful fringe meeting at the 2008 CSP Annual Representative Conference and the Society writing to the UK Government about human rights and trade union rights abuses in Colombia. See our news item on this: Abuse of trade union and human rights in Colombia: CSP takes up issue with UK Government.
• the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) - a World Trade Organisation (WTO) led initiative to liberalise trade in services, the GATS threatened to have serious implications for the NHS and for CSP members if implemented. The CSP collaborated with other trade unions and campaigning organisations such as People and Planet and the World Development Movement in producing a leaflet on GATS as part of a campaign against its introduction.

You can find out which international organisations the Employment Relations and Union Services function collaborates with on our Union affiliations page.