ARC16: Champion the profession and combat apathy, says CSP chair

Catherine Pope urged delegates to challenge apathy and inspire others

This was the message given by CSP chair of Council Catherine Pope as she opened the two-day Annual Representative Conference (ARC) in Manchester on 14 March.

Ms Pope urged delegates to find ways to ‘challenge apathy and helplessness’ and inspire others to champion the profession’s accomplishments.

‘In this room are about 200 of our most active members and yet in total there are over 54,000 – so the challenge is how we inspire and persuade many more of those members to be active advocates for the physiotherapy profession and the patients we treat,’ she said.

‘This is our profession and we all need to champion it together.’

A starting point for major developments

Ms Pope told delegates she had been attending ARC for 20 years and the event’s value was undimmed, she said. It was the only forum at which all the CSP networks could meet, discuss the big issues affecting the profession and set an agenda shaped by members.

She encouraged delegates to voice their views, by contributing to the debates and voting wisely. The conference provided the most direct route for members to propose, influence and, indeed, change the society’s policies.

‘Remember that some major developments for both the profession and the organisation originated in ARC motions,’ said Ms Pope.

‘Both injection therapy and prescribing started here, and the appointment of country policy officers and, more recently, a professional adviser [post] for Scotland also began as ARC motions.’