Professional advice service

Part of your membership package includes access to our Professional Advice Service (PAS). Find out all about PAS here, including the areas they can and cannot give advice on. Our service is predominantly email based.

What is the Professional Advice Service (PAS)?

PAS is a service provided by the Practice & Development Unit of the CSP for the benefit of members. PAS is predominantly an email based service providing appropriate, consistent and timely advice to users on professional practice matters - see below.

The first point in dealing with your enquiry will be the CSP’s Enquiry Handling Unit (EHU) who will be able to deal with most matters for you. For complex enquires, your enquiry will be forwarded by email to the coordinating professional advisers of the Professional Advice Team.

What is Professional Practice advice?

• It's advice and information for consideration relating to the behaviour, conduct, personal scope, duty of care, and role and responsibilities of an individual Chartered Physiotherapist or associate member.
• It's advice and information for consideration relating to the practice and philosophy of the profession of physiotherapy as a whole.

Advice given is balanced and objective, based on facts as provided to the CSP. On occasion it is possible that two opposing ‘parties’ may approach the CSP for advice. In such circumstances, PAS will ensure as far as practicable, that confidentiality, impartiality and transparency are considered before any advice is given.

Who can access full advice and information services?

The Professional Advice Service is offered to members of the CSP as part of their membership package, and is for use as a benefit to, and for, members.

Full support can be provided to all persons who are currently paying an appropriate subscription fee to the CSP. This will include practising physiotherapists in any area of the profession, student physiotherapists, associate members of the CSP and retired physiotherapists.

Please note that the service is not provided to physiotherapists, students, associates, retired or former physiotherapists who are not current subscribing members ( in the appropriate category of membership relevant to them) of the CSP at the time the enquiry is made.

Who can access limited advice and information services?

This currently extends to:

• Other regulated medical, health and social care professionals who may have general questions relating to the practice of physiotherapy in the course of their day-to-day work.
• Service managers who may require some support in helping them to manage physiotherapists who work for them.
• and in some cases, members of the public or other organisations may have a professional practice query that can be answered by PAS

Such enquiries will be provided with considered personal advice where appropriate, signposted to CSP publications that are not restricted to CSP members only, or signposted to more appropriate sources of help and information.

What can PAS advise on?

Is there anything that PAS cannot help me with?

Yes. Where an enquiry falls outside the remit of PAS, the enquirer will be signposted to a more appropriate source of help. PAS is not able to give advice on the following:

• Clinical Advice: the term 'Clinical advice ' refers to guidance on the planning, selection and implementation of physiotherapy assessments, advice, and interventions. PAS can inform members of relevant clinical guidelines published by the CSP for their consideration, However it cannot provide specific clinical practice advice regarding care of an individual patient or specific patient groups.
• Legal Advice: PAS can advice members on the legislation and legal processes which impact upon the professional practice aspect of physiotherapy. However, PAS is not staffed by qualified solicitors or barristers and therefore will advise members when specialist advice from a legally qualified professional may be in the member's best interests.
• Endorsement / Sponsorship: the CSP currently does not provide endorsement or sponsorship of products.
• Workplace Issues: work place issues are often very complex and can involve both advice from the Employment Relations and Union Services (ERUS) Function and the Professional Advice Team. Members facing workplace issues should, in the first instance, contact their workplace CSP steward for advice.
• Mediation or Personal representation: PAS cannot mediate in disputes, nor does PAS provide individual professional practice representation or support to physiotherapists involved in workplace disputes. Individual support and representation is provided by the workplace steward network or central CSP ERUS support.
• Financial Advice: PAT cannot give out any advice that is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Due to The Competition Act 1998 PAS cannot provide or suggest costing figures.
• Regulatory Judgments: the CSP no longer regulates registered physiotherapists; the Health Professions Council (HPC) now performs this role. The CSP continues to regulate the activities of student, associate members and animal physiotherapists via the Regulatory Board. Where an enquiry comes to PAS that requires a regulatory/value judgment opinion, the enquirer will be directed to a more appropriate contact.
• Careers Advice: PAS cannot provide careers advice to individual physiotherapists or other seeking advice on careers in physiotherapy.

How do I access PAS?

All enquiries to PAS should come via the CSP’s Enquiry Handling Unit (EHU) in the first instance. Opening Hours are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Please contact the EHU by phone on 020 7306 6666 or send an email to: enquiries@csp.org.uk

What information should I provide if I want professional advice?

• Your name
• Your CSP membership number
• An accurate summary of your enquiry providing all facts and information that would be required to answer the enquiry.
• An up to date and valid email contact address for your reply.

How will my enquiry be dealt with?

The EHU staff will be able to resolve a large amount of any queries that you may have. If they are unable to fully answer your query they will email your enquiry to the Co-Ordinating Professional Advisers of the Professional Advice Team.

PAS is predominantly an email based service, and you will receive an email reply to your query. From time to time, it may be necessary to speak with you on the phone, and the Professional Adviser will seek to make an appropriate appointment time during regular working hours with you to avoid unexpected disruption of your daily schedule.