Final stop of CSP conference tour – Scottish delegates hear patient’s perspective, and consider health inequalities

Scottish physios gathered at the Glasgow Marriot for the final stage of the CSP’s annual conference 2023. The conference, which follows previous events in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, brought delegates together from all across Scotland.

The gathered physiotherapy professionals discussed a wide-range of topics, from facilitating research in practice, to digital advances in care. There was also a lively debate about whether the physio profession is fit for the future.

The day began with Dr Cor Hutton, founder of charity Finding your Feet, sharing a patient’s perspective of physiotherapy. Cor, a quadruple amputee following a case of sepsis in 2013, was the first Scot to receive a double hand transplant.

She has gone onto to achieve many physical feats, including being the first female quadruple amputee to climb Kilimanjaro, and setting up Finding Your Feet – a charity supporting families affected by amputation or limb absence.

She told delegates:

I know that physio has helped me get my independence, my self-confidence back.

It made me determined to push harder to try to live a positive life, made me able to say ‘yes’ to things I never dreamed possible

Tackling health inequalities

Later in the day, delegates heard about an array of work happening within Glasgow and beyond to tackle health inequalities. Physiotherapist and PhD candidate, Cassandra MacGregor’s research looks into how chronic pain services can be delivered in an equitable manner, and how their current delivery may exacerbate existing inequality in a population.

She shared how physiotherapy staff and services can act to tackle health inequalities now:

'I think that physios can start to take action on health inequalities by asking themselves who benefits the most from their services. What groups of people are attending their services? Who's actually participating in their services? And then, thinking about in terms of the demographic of area you work in, who is actually benefiting from those services?

We should increasingly think about how our services are accessed and how we can make them easier to access

Next year's CSP annual conference will be held from 10-12 October 2024. The theme will be Rehabilitation Transforms Population Health.

The call for symposium sessions is now open and you can find out more, and submit your proposals, here.