E o r a u m i  '  1
feaftu. —  ..............................  — ~....*....j ..* ......» * . ^ , — ,.h  ............................. /w m t...m;, wwn.uftW  «mi «■ i rn ltii J

In April 1993, the Chairman of the SASP, Mrs 
F Glauber stated that fragmentation of the Society was 
being caused by a breakdown in communication re­
sulting in an "invisible barrier" which divided the 
NEC from Branches and Branches from the Groups'1. 
She felt that the time was ripe for a complete restruc­
turing of the Society, starting from the top with Coun­
cil and the NEC.

After the National Council meeting, an ad-hoc com­
mittee was formed, comprising members from all 
areas of the country and from different fields of prac­
tice. Many long soul-searching meetings have been 
held and a draft proposal of the new Society should 
be completed for presentation at this coming National 
Council meeting in May.

But what is a Professional Society and what are its 
functions?

Mrs Levy in her Presidential Address in 1985 
pointed out that associations and societies came into 
existence many centuries ago, when groups of people 
with similar goals and shared interests banded to­
gether in order to solve mutual problems2. As a Soci­
ety grows, more authority must be handed down to 
delineated areas and groups for the control and man­
agement of their own affairs. In the past, there was 
strong opposition by members of the society to the 
formation of Special Interest Groups on the ground 
that they would splinter the whole framework of the 
Society These fears were felt to be groundless by Mrs 
Levy who stated that the Central Administration 
could not have functioned effectively without the 
Groups.

What has therefore gone wrong and who is to blame 
for the perceived "fragmentation of the society"? 
What are the Functions of a Society?

According to Professor Bromilow-Downing, Pro­
fessional Societies should act as a union to ensure that 
its members are adequately remunerated and that 
they receive due recognition from their employers 
and regulating bodies3. But he said that a Society must 
also maintain high professional standards and ensure 
its members provide good patient care. Communica­
tion is essential when campaigning for the recognition 
of one's professional status by other professionals.

Mrs Levy (1983) added that a society should also be 
concerned with the health needs of different commu­
nities and of the role of physiotherapy in meeting 
these needs2. She urged the society and profession to 
ensure that physiotherapists do not remain in hospital 
and private practice departments, but that they be­
come an integral part of the community services in

those areas where physiotherapy has not yet come 
into its own.

The SASP has done much to meet its obligation to 
its members and has strived to keep up with the 
demands placed on it. Although we waited seven 
years to react to the challenge of future health needs, 
a very active committee is looking into the role of the 
physiotherapy profession in future health care deliv­
ery systems. It is envisaged that final positional pa­
pers will be available shortly.

In order to maintain high standards of practice and 
to improve the image of physiotherapy, the concept of 
Quality Assurance has been accepted. Packages are 
being compiled for practitioners to be used as self- 
evaluation tools in various fields of practice and an 
educational component will assist the physiotherapist 
to improve his/her skills and competence.

Another plan is the establishment of an Ethics Com­
mittee which will deal with problems arising between 
physiotherapists and their patients or between differ­
ent practitioners. Calls for nominations for a Chair­
man and three Vice-Chairmen of the proposed com­
mittee are set out in this Journal (page 20) and mem­
bers are invited to become involved in this venture.

As we enter a new era in our country's history, with 
its fears, hopes and challenges, our Society is also 
moving to a more open and relevant association. 
Hopefully this will encourage every physiotherapist 
to join the SASP and make the society truly repre­
sentative of our profession. As Mrs Gilder stated in 
her Editorial in 1977 "physiotherapy is on the brink of 
a very exciting era and it's up to every physiotherapist 
to exploit and explore this"4. This is even more true 
today than it was in 1977 and everyone can and 
should do something for our profession if we truly 
believe in its worth.

With the increasing number of physiotherapists re­
ceiving post-graduate degrees, a greater number of 
research articles can be expected from physiothera­
pists. Many research articles are being received from 
other university departments, which keep the Journal 
going, but it would be nice if most of the publications 
are from physiotherapists themselves. This should be 
another New Year resolution that each of us makes!

References

1. G lau b er F. G u est Editorial. P hysio F orum  1993;7(3):1.
2. Levy M . Editorial. SA J P h y s . 1985;41(3):67-69.
3. B rom ilo w -D o w nin g B. P resid ential A dd ress. S/1 J  P hys. 1973;29(4):13-14.
4. G ild er N. Editorial. SA J  Phys. 1977;33(3):1.

Physiotherapy, February 1994 Vol 50 No 1 Page 3

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