Cam pa i g n Con t r ove IS y MADAM - I write in support of letters published in the October issue by Jacquie Scott and Margaret McGee.

I too was shocked and angry to see such anti-government propaganda, supposedly representative of CSP members' views. The White Paper is about change, something which is long overdue and yet is being so forcefully resisted.

Our Health Service begins w i th primary care - how many of us have visited GP surgeries and in some cases been dismayed to find them cold, damp, scruffy and overc rowded? A n d w h a t about t h e Chartered physiotherapists we hear of practising from a bedroom, for instance? Would you expect to consult a solicitor in a bedroom?

It 's t ime for health professionals t o be encouraged t o provide a more business-like and polished service in order to improve standards such as these. They have become too complacent in the knowledge that patients wil l come to them because they don't have any other choice.

Most other professionals have to be masters in their field as well as business managers and are rewarded by gaining extra business according to the quality of service they offer.

The White Paper offers a challenge to which we should all respond - that of maintaining and improving professional standards in order to improve levels of patient care and to consolidate ourselves

as respected professionals wi th in the community.

This is an emotive issue and there are divergent views, so it is important that these areas are discussed fully among the members. While I agree that some areas of the White Paper are unacceptable, I feel others offer opportunities which should not be missed.

KAY CROTTY MCSP Harrow

MADAM - Thank you for publishing my letter in the October issue of Physiotherapy, However, the weighty postscript from Toby Simon does dilute my plea for a balanced debate. I feel this type of added 'official' comment could deter would-be corres- pondents.

Re his comments, I believe they are slightly misleading. I, for example, have not been balloted by my area representative. I must, therefore, assume Mr Simon means the Society's representatives strongly supported the policy, not the CSP members as he states. Also, his assertion that Mr Gilchrist was entirely correct, in stating that the reforms will destroy the grading system, is not fact as he implies but is Mr Gilchrist's interpretation of the White Paper. The reported outcome of the CSP's meeting with Mr Mellor (October, page 577) suggests his view is not entirely correct.

MARGARET McGEE MCSP Hoylake, Wirral

Was it a Representative Conference? MADAM - Following a recent meeting which discussed the motions addressed at the Representatives Conference, Swindon Branch would like t o question whether the recommendations made are the views of the general membership or of a politically active minority. Two particular issues troubled us.

Although many of us have reservations about some of the proposals contained in the White Paper we do see it as an opportunity t o take a critical look at physiotherapy and the service we offer. We were concerned therefore that all the motions carried appear t o support a blanket condemnation of the White Paper and spending more of our limited resources on fighting its proposals, while the only motions suggesting consideration of strategies and procedures to deal wi th the proposals failed.

We were also disappointed at the lack of support offered to physiotherapy helpers by

Ninth International Congress of FIMM

MADAM - I write to correct the news item in your October issue, appearing on page 578. Three points need to be made.

1. No French doctor had anything to do with the running of this congress, nor any authority whatever to make a statement regarding eligibility for presentation of material at the congress. This was naturally the sole responsibility of the organising committee, which was exclusively British.

2. No aoproach was made at any time by i r U M T or WCPT t o the organis ing committee.

3. The WCPT ban on the congress, thus seen to be based on advice sought from

the representatives in failing to recognise the value of appropriate training schemes and allowing them affiliation t o the Chartered Society.

One motion proposed that the CSP should be seen t o reflect the views of the grass roots membership. We wonder if the 'grass roots' made their views known t o their representatives or whether the conference was a reflection of the views of the representatives themselves. However if we are to develop a forward looking profession able t o meet the challenges of the next decade, the Society must not only be seen to reflect the views of its membership but each member must accept responsibility for shaping the future policies of the CSP.

P A RICHARDSON MCSP Honorary Secretary Swindon Branch

an inappropr iate quarter, m u s t have discouraged some CSP members from attending a programme (including material of high intellectual calibre, presented by a substantial number of speakers of inter- national repute) which many might have found of extreme interest.

I am sorry that your readers should have been so misinformed. A t present the constitution of FlMM precludes presentation of material by non-medical participants.

JOHN K PATERSON MB BS Chairman Organising Committee

Interview Problems M A D A M - The Industrial Relations Committee of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists has been asked to draw your attention to certain difficulties that some physiotherapists are encountering at interviews for senior posts in the UK.

These difficulties are in the area of experience and stem from the fact that hospitals in Ireland are very much smaller than those in the UK. In fact in the 26 counties (Southern Ireland) there are only four hospitals w i th 2 0 physiotherapists. All the others range from one up to an average of four to eight! This means that the type of experience gained is very different from that gained in a large UK hospital. Some candidates feel that interviewers have difficulty in understanding this.

We hope this letter will go some way towards explaining the problem and, while we are not looking for special treatment for candidates from Ireland, it might be helpful t o the interviewer.

DIANE BOYLAN MISCP Hon Secretary, Industrial Relations

Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists Committee

Bursting Balls MADAM - Our physiotherapy department has used gymnastic balls for some years in a wide range of therapeutic fields. We purchase the Italian Ledragomma/'Pezzi' ball via distributors first in England now here in Australia.

Recently, we have been experiencing the problem of balls spontaneously bursting, unrelated to whether the patient is exerting pressure on them, ambient temperature changes, or being inflated prior to use.

We would be grateful to hear from any physiotherapy department using gymnastic balls to determine possible causes of the problem and to eradicate this safety hazard.

DEBBIE LAW MCSP Senior Physiotherapist Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre 207 Hampstead Road, Northfield South Australia 5085

Pool Water MADAM - I would like to thank all those people who kindly wrote or telephoned me with regards to the skin sensitivity problems w i th our bromine hydrotherapy pool. The information has been very helpful and we are now planning to convert our pool to chlorine.

CATHERINE BEECHEY MCSP Battle Hospital, Reading

TENS Donation MADAM - In the Journal of September 1989 the national organiser of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged wrote that the Fund had money available t o supply 400 TENS machines.

We at the Richmond Rehabilitation Unit for the Elderly were lucky enough to be given six machines.

We are absolutely delighted and most grateful for ourselves and our patients for this boost to our equipment for lending out for the relief of pain. BERNARDINE McAVlNCHEY MCSP Richmond, Surrey

708 Physiotherapy, December 1989, vol75, no 72