TH E LESOTHO M EDICAL CONGRESS 12 P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y DECEMBER, 1975 Regional Congress of the Commonwealth Medical Association A U D R E Y A. M cFA R L A N E, B.Sc. Physiotherapy (Wits), Dip. in E ducation, P retoria, Senior Lecturer G a-R ankuw a. M y decision to attend the L esotho M edical Congress as a way o f spending the long week-end in O ctober turned out to be very gratifying both fro m th e academ ic as well as the aesthetic points of view. It was a Regional C ongress o f the C om m onw ealth M edical Association and the them e was O rthopaedic R ehabilitation. It was held in M aseru the 9th-12th O ctober, 1975, and was attended by doctors from the member M edical A ssociations of B otsw ana, K enya, M alawi, Swaziland, T an zan ia, U ganda and Z am bia. Also there, were representatives from the invited guest associations, nam ely the B ritish O rthopaedic A ssociation, the South A frican O rtho paedic Association and the South A frican Society of P hysiotherapy besides speakers from the U nited States and Rhodesia. The congress was held in the A irport H otel in M aseru and was opened by His M ajesty K ing C onstantine M oshoeshoe II, p atro n of the Lesotho M edical A ssocia­ tion. H is address ended w ith a plea th a t the pressing practical problem s be not lost in the dlouds of high scientific and academ ic considerations. D r. M. A. Sid- dique, O.B.E., convened the congress and the chief guest speaker was Prof. W. Brodie, H ead of the D epartm ent o f O rthopaedics at the U niversity in K am pala, U ganda. Prof. B rodie read a n u m b er of papers well illustrated w ith slides. H e em phasised the point th a t sophisticated w heelchairs w ith pneum atic tyres have no place in ru ral Black com m unities. H e showed the m aking of a simple w heelchair from a norm al tu b u la r chair w ith solid-tyre wheels and a back w heel of at least eight inch diam eter fo r rough roads. He also showed the m aking o f simple calipers from steel rods (used to re-inforce concrete) w ith leather parts m ade of sheepskin and the shoe replaced by a w ooden clog w ith straps over the foot. T he making of these calipers provides em ploym ent fo r the h an d i­ capped. O rthopaedic Surgeons from South A frica who read papers included Mr. J. A. v. d. M erwe, President of the S.A. O rthopaedic Association. P rof. Pom pe van Meer- deervoort fro m tihe U niversity of O.F.S. an d M r. J. E. H andelsm an from T he U niversity o f th e W itw atersrand. T he P resident of the British M edical A ssociation Mr. P. H . N ew m an also read a paper. T hese papers were on C erebral Palsy, D eform ities an d Injuries, and to m ention just one point th at interested me, was the refuting o f the fact th at the low incidence o f C ongenital deform ity of the hip joint in Blacks is due to a dislocatable hip being cured by “ back carrying” . A pparently this could only be the explanation if the child were carried in this w ay from the d ay of birth b u t this is not so. T he babies a re not carried on the back until they are at least three or four weeks old during w hich time they are swaddled in cloths w ith their legs adducted. The low incidence m ust be due to o th e r factors which a s yet 'are not verified. F o u r physiotherapists fro m South A frica read papers. T he n u m b er th a t travelled fro m South A frica to attend being ten m em bers o f the S outh A frican Society of Physiotherapy, three w ith spouses, m aking a group 0f thirteen in all. This was re-inforced by three physio­ therapists from L esotho Miss F. M orojele, Miss Mofo- keng and Mrs. Bedwani (an Egyptian). Besides myself from P retoria, the others from South A frica were MrsAv L indsay W oods (and her husband) and Miss Hazel SmithJ) from P o rt E lizabeth, (D r. and) M rs. M o rar and Miss Rita M eyer from E ast L ondon, M r. John M oot from Cape Town who read a paper on Paraplegia; from D urban Mr. O harles Liggins w ho read a paper on T.B. M eningitis and Mr. G ounden who read a paper on Neo­ n atal Tetanus; and fro m B loem fontein M r. Rogers, and Mrs. L ederle who read a ipaper on Building a Rehabilita­ tion Service with Lim ited Resources. Mr. G o u n d en ’s paper raised discussion on the low incidence o'f N eo -n atal T etanus in L esotho. T he paper showed a low incidence in the O.F.S. com pared to Natal and Lesotho adjoins the O.F.S. Physiotherapy was much in evidence th ro u g h o u t the congress — th e various sur­ geons m entioning it frequently in their papers, — and the whole atm osphere was very gratifying fo r physiothera­ pists. T h e interesting sessions were punctuated by enjoyable social functions and we were feted and entertained th roughout the Congress. F o r our arrival a t the airport there was a welcoming com m ittee consisting of the C onvenor D r. Siddique, his secretary M rs. V ivian, the President of the L esotho M edical A ssociation D r. Lebona and his wife Evelyn w ho took us to "a luncheon a t the M aseru Club and then on to a conducted to u r of the Queen Elizabeth II H ospital in th e afternoon. T he D elegates were entertained by King Moshoeshoe II to a cocktail party at the palace the evening after hê fe, had opened the Congress. T h e M inister of H ealth heldV' a cocktail party at the M aseru C lu b on the second even­ ing from where delegates divided into sm aller groups to be entertained at d in n er parties in the private homes of mem bers of the L esotho M edical A ssociation, and an enorm ous banquet was held in the A irp o rt H otel on the follow ing evening. A t the closing cerem ony all delegates were presented with L esotho hats and flags a n d w e ended with a w onderful trip to M olim o N thuse (G od Help Me) in the M aluti m ountains where we lunched on delicious fresh tro u t from the m ountain streams. T he congress felt th a t the successful coming together of all the lands o f S outhern A frica should not m elt away but produce fruitful results so various practical resolutions were draw n up at the final session. A m ong o ther things it was decided to build a “K ra a l” in L esotho w here dis­ abled lived fo r a day or tw o a fte r com pletion o f hospital­ isation to integrate them into th eir com m unity living before returning to their families. This was as the result o f a paper read by an O ccupational therapist from Bloem fontein w here such a k raal has been built. Also that triple innoculation against Polio m ust become a fact. One felt th at the wish of the King w ould be fulfilled by the carrying o u t o f the final R esolutions. R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. ) pESEMBER 1975 F I S I O T E R A P I E 13 GENERAL N A T IO N A L COMMITTEE OF REPRESENTATIVES At the recent N atio n al C ouncil M eeting a completely ^ concept for the A dm inistration of the Society was j'6 cussed. T he C ouncil agreed th a t we try out the scheme ascertain w hether it w ould in fact, function as cnjt was agreed th at we ap p o in t a sm all N atio n al executive C om m ittee who w ould m eet regularly and be ^ s p o n s i b l e for th e day-to-day business of the Society. These Meetings w ould not be attended by representatives f the Associations, G roups or Branches unless some Urgent business required discussion. ^ N ational C om m ittee of R epresentatives w ould also be appointed- T his w ould consist of the m em bers o f the National Executive C om m ittee together with a represen- ^ive from all the B ranches, A ssociations, G roups, C hair- ( ^ n of the Sub-Com m ittees, Officers of the Society, such js the Public R elations Officer and representatives o f the Society on N atio n al O rganisations. This Com m ittee has been form ed in an endeavour to make the running of the Society m ore “n atio n al” especi­ ally as far as Branch representation is concerned. It is fully appreciated, however, th at at present it will n o t be possible fo r B ranches to be represented personally a t each meeting, as t'he expenses involved are prohibitive. It is the a im o f the Society, h o w e v er, to m a k e this possible e v e n tu a lly , a n d b o th the N ational Executive Committee a n d the Branches m u st w o rk to w a rd s th is end. Where a B ranch is not dom iciled in the area o f the Headquarters and cannot send a representative to any particular m eeting, an alternate residing in the area m ust be appointed (Johannesburg or Pretoria). If a B ranch wishes to discuss a m atter urgently and wishes to send a representative fro m their own B ranch the expenses shall only be borne by the Society if authorised previously by the N ational Executive C om m ittee. (See A m endm ents to Constitution passed a t Council 36 ( c ) ). The num ber of meetings th at this C om m ittee o f Representatives will hold annually will be decided upon by the Com m ittee itself at its first -meeting. A t th e recent National Executive C om m ittee M eeting it was agreed that the first -meeting w ould be convened for Saturday 3lst January, 1976. It will be held in Johannesburg, the ^pnue will be notified at a later date. W SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS South African Society o f Physiotherapy Addresses: Obstetric Association Secretary: Mrs. B. Kastell, 11 B ath Avenue, Parkw ood Johannesburg 2000. Telephone: 42-7410 Manipulative Therapists Group Secretary: Miss B. Winter, 801 Jan. S. M arais M dical Centre, Bellville Cape 7530. Telephone: 97-8644 X VI IN T ER N A T IO N A L CONGRESS OF PHYSIOTHERAPY The O rganizing C om m ittee o f the X V I IN T E R ­ N A T IO N A L C O N G R E S S O F P H Y S IO T H E R A P Y has been set 'up in Barcelona. W orking sessions will be held in the H all of Congresses from Ju n e 20 to 25, 1976. T he C ongress, sponsored by C .E.T.P., is organized by the Spanish Physiotherapy A ssociation, represented by the B arcelona delegation. The Science C om m ittee has chosen the following m onograph topics: (a) P hysiotherapy treatm en t in spastic paralysis. (b) Recovery o f the use of th e hand. (c) F unctional treatm ent of spinal pathologies. A paper on each of these topics will be presented by an outstanding personality in the field. The Congress will adm it com m uniques on these topics, as well as free com m uniques, and will dedicate a full day of the C ongress to them . T he date for reception of the com m unique sum m a­ ries is M arch 1; instructions and form s m ay be re­ quested from the Secretariat. P arallel to the Congress there will be an exhibit of professional technical m aterial w hich will include im ­ po rtan t firms fro m around the world. In m y own name and th at of the Organizing C om ­ mittee, it is my pleasure to cordially invite all our colleagues in this country, whose attendance and scien­ tific collaboration will be a great satisfaction for us. A L B E R T O N U N E Z P E R E Z , Organizing C om m ittee C hairm an. X VI C ongreso International de F isioterapia — Secretaria — A partado 22055 Barcelona (Espana). A. C . M ILLER & CO. O R T H O P A E D I C M E C H A N I C I A N S • Technicians registered w ith S.A. Medical and Dental Council specialising in the follow ing: ORTHOPAEDIC APPLIANCES, SURGICAL CORSETS, CERVICAL COLLARS, CHILDREN'S SHOES AND BOOTS, ARTIFICIAL LIMBS, LATEST IN PLASTIC MODIFICATION. HIRING AND SELLING OF HOSPITAL EQUIP­ MENT AND SICK ROOM REQUISITES, e.g. WHEEL CHAIRS, COMMODES, HOSPITAL BEDS, WALKING AIDS, TRACTION APPARATUS, etc. e Telephone P.O. Box 3412 23-2496 275 Bree S treet Johannesburg EDITOR’S NOTE Journals of M ember Organisations and W.C.P.T. are received regularly by the S.A.S.P. and these are available ON LO A N to members on application to the Editor, P.O. Box 1151, Johannesburg. R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )