NATIONAL CONGRESS & COUNCIL Pretoria, 22 to 24 April 1991 physiotherapy. I, myself, and members of my immediate circle of relatives and friends, have benefited greatly from you science. So we certainly know about you! Apart from alleviating pain, discomfort and misery, physiother­ apy must undoubtedly, in the industrial society, contribute enor­ mously to productivity. It must be one of the most cost-effective forms of medical treatment. I believe that statistical studies have been done in the USA and elsewhere which demonstrate this clearly. Perhaps one of you will be so good as to furnish me with the results of such a study. Let me conclude with a statem ent of faith: It is my belief that there is a sufficiently large body o f well-meaning, hardworking ideal­ ists and talented people in this country to see us through a phase of our history which is critical, but at the same time most challenging. PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS K M Levy Madam Chairman, Professor Strauss, members o f the N a­ tio n a l E x ecu tiv e C o m m itte e , m e m b e rs o f C o u n cil, lad ies and gentlemen. This will be my last address to Council in my official capacity as President. It is therefore appropriate that I should look back over the years and note some of the changes that have taken place since I attended my first Council Meeting some forty years ago. As only to be expected, there have been many changes both in the training of physiotherapists and in the practice of physiotherapy, not only in South Africa, but throughout the world, and in particular in those countries who are in membership of the “World Confeder­ ation for Physical Therapy”. As you are aware, the Society was founded in the mid-twenties by a small group of dedicated physiotherapists. Meetings were held in the large centres and the first Council Meetings were held in the treatment rooms of private practices established in the area. The Society is indeed deeply indebted to the early members who set us on our present successful path. These included Miss Susie Oosthuizen and Miss Marjorie Catt. Miss Oosthuizen, o r “O ur Susie” as she was affectionately known, was the main pillar of strength upon which the foundations o f the Society were laid. I well remember my farewell from the Principal of my training centre in London when I was instructed to contact “Susie” as soon as I arrived in Johannesburg and make myself useful to her and the Society. This I did, and I trust that I have followed her instructions! Miss Catt, like her confederate, was an extremely busy private practitioner but, none the less found time to take an active part in the affairs o f the Southern Transvaal and the Society as a whole. We are all most grateful to her for the substantial endowments she left to both the Southern Transvaal Branch and the National Executive Committee without which the purchase of the premises which now house the Secretariat would not have been possible. May I suggest for consideration by the Council that her name be associated perm a­ nently in some way with the new premises. Recognition should also be given to stalwarts of the early years such as Miss Jean Blair and Miss Margaret Emslie who were respon­ sible for the early training at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Pretoria Hospital. It should also include Mr Fred Rothberg whose professional legal knowledge in addition to his professional physiotherapy excellence was invaluable in matters affecting the Constitution. There are of course many others who contributed to the development of the Society to its present proud state by giving generously of their time and efforts without thought to financial compensation. It can surely be said that the success of the present members of the Society can be attributed to the fact that they are standing on the shoulders o f giants. The Society was a founder member of the “World Confeder­ ation for Physiotherapy”. During the years the status of South A fri­ Mrs Molly Levy, President can physiotherapy was recognised by members of the Society being elected to the Executive Committee o f the Confederation as early as the nineteen-sixties. More recently however, politics reared its ugly head and there was a strong move by the Nordic countries in particu­ lar, to have the Society expelled from membership because national political policies were alleged to be contrary to the Code of Ethics of the World body. Fortunately, Sheena Irwin-Carruthers and I were able to prove to the satisfaction of the Executive Committee and later the full Council that there are no racial barriers in the SASP Con­ stitution nor in the practice o f physiotherapy in South Africa. It was pointed out in fact that the Society had been instrumental in having the clause which debars racial discrimination inserted in the original Code of Ethics. During the course of 1990 an Africa Division of the W CPT was formed. The Society is very proud of Sheena Irwin-Carruthers who was elected its President. This recognition of South Africa’s leader­ ship in physiotherapy in Africa carries with it a responsibility of advising and assisting where possible in the provision of affordable physiotherapy services appropriate to the needs o f the various A fri­ can communities. It is o f the utmost importance that we recognise this responsi­ bility and it should be high on the list of priorities for the incoming Council. But enough of the past. What o f the future? How are we as a Society and as individual physiotherapists going to ensure that we emerge from the past and move forward ready to cope with all eventualities? The future of physiotherapy in this country will be dictated largely by Physiotherapy’s contribution to the services that will be needed to provide adequate, appropriate and affordable health schemes for the total population of the new South Africa. This will place a tremendous strain on the medical profession whose numbers are totally inadequate in relation to the whole popu­ lation. There will have to be changes to optimise the use o f the limited number of personnel at present available. It has been pointed out by numerous authorities lately, includ­ ing our Minister of Health in her opening address to the Congress, that this can best be done by the establishment of community health services th r o u g h o u t th e c o u n try to provide, inter alia, p rim ary physiotherapy. If the physiotherapy profession is unable to meet these de­ mands there is a real danger that elementary physiotherapy proce­ d u r e s will be a d m in is te re d by o t h e r b ra n c h e s o f th e m e d ic a l profession. I am aware that this problem has been receiving the attention of the Society for some time, but the unforeseen rapid rate of change in South Africa has given it a new urgency. The solution in the contact of total medical care will have to be found in a short space of time. The Society faces the daunting task o f providing for the basic physiotherapy needs of the total population of the country without dropping its standards. It must continue to strive for excellence in research and in the development and practice of new techniques and procedures. The close personal relationship that must always exist Physiotherapy, August 1991 Vol 41 no 3 Page 49 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. ) Boehringer Ingelheim nebulising solutions 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. ) New—Atrovent Inhalant Solution Unit Dose Vials • Added always to your standard I32 solution • Precise dose every time • Simple and convenient • Preservative-free Bisolvon® solution • Reduces bronchial and nasal secretion viscosity • Facilitates mucocilliary transport and expectoration Boehringer Inhalation Ingelheim Therapy Creating a better clim ate for your patients S2 S2 S2 Atrovent 0,025% Inhalant Solution. Each ml contains 0,250 mg ipratropium bromide Reg. No. Q/10.2.1/117 Atrovent U.D.V. 0,5 mg/2 ml Inhalant Solution. Each 2 ml contains 0,5 mg ipratropium bromide (preservative free) Reg. No. X/10.2.1/322 Bisolvon Solution Each 5 ml contains bromhexine HC110 mg Ref. No. G642 (Act 101/1965) For further information about these and our other products, please contact; Boehringer Ingelheim (Pty) Ltd Reg. No. (69/08619/07) Private Bag X3032, Randburg, 2125 S P E C T R U M 113122 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. ) NATIONAL CONGRESS & COUNCIL Pretoria, 22 to 24 April 1991 between patient and physiotherapist must be maintained. I have every confidence that the members of the South African Society of Physiotherapy and its Council have the knowledge, experi­ ence and, particularly, wisdom and vision to take decisions in the best interests of physiotherapy, the medical profession and the country in the period of transition that lies ahead. Following her address Mrs Levy was given a standing ovation by all the delegates, members of the NEC, representatives and visitors. REPORT ON THE 19TH NATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING CHAIRMAN'S REPORT J C Beenhakker In summarising the activities of the National Executive Com­ mittee, Professor Beenhakker outlined some of the goals that had been achieved and what was still needed to be done. Strategic Planning Objectives have been drawn up to take our Society into the new century and plans have been derived for many of these objectives. • Membership and Development for grooming all physiothera­ pists to participate in the Society activities and administration. • U n d e r g r a d u a te e d u c a tio n an d A ssistan t train in g is being undertaken by the Education committee. • Great strides have taken place in the fields of Post-graduate education and training. Mrs Ntina Themba has been given the brief of establishing a Division of Continuing Physiotherapy education which will be administered centrally. Two other important issues are well on the way to completion due to the sterling work of Miss Sheena Irwin-Carruthers. These are Quality Assurance and hopefully some prototype modules will be produced soon and volunteers will be called for to run pilot audits and to give feedback. The inaugural meeting of the College of Physiotherapists will be held later today and Spe­ cialisation will soon become a reality. • Setting up a Division of Research and Development. • Ways of improving the Management and Administration of the Society have been considered and some of the plans are being implemented, these include: Fundraising - It was decided to appoint Mrs Lynn Fearn- head to investigate the possibility of raising funds for special p ro je c ts an d th e tw o m o s t im p o r ta n t a r e a s are th e Physiotherapy Back Pain Foundation and the Educational Trust Fund. Acquisition of Property - Completed. Centralisation - under the very able hands of Miss Lxj-an Roux. The Western Province pilot project has proved very successful, and by December all but three members had paid their subscriptions. It is hoped that the rest of the membership will be centralised by the end of May. A formula still needs to be calculated on the money to be given back to branches. While the work at Head Office has increased, it is hoped to appoint a Secretary/Bookkeeper to alleviate the burden. • Professional Recognition and effective representation of the Society on all bodies concerned with decision making on m at­ ters relating to our profession. • Public Relations. Our PRO. Mrs Elena Stock had to curtail her activities and agreed to act as a consultant to the NEC. the Action Committee or Interest Groups. She recommended that no new programmes be launched until all areas had been thoroughly researched. A survey was drawn up and sent out in Forum and our General Secretary, Lo-an Roux collated the in fo rm a tio n reg ard in g m e m b e rs need s and opinions. M rs Professor Jo Beenhakker. National Chairman Stock also undertook to restructure the organisation of Back Week and the week-end workshops involving the Action Com­ mittee and branch representatives proved very successful. The main aim of our PRO was to improve communication between various committee, branches and Special Interest Groups. Priorities for Action Fragm entation of H ealth Services. At meetings with the Min­ ister of National Health and with various departments regarding the deteriorating health services it became clear that physiotherapists will have to find their niche in the field of preventative and promotive health in order to survive. A memorandum on the role of physiother­ apy in these fields has been drawn up at the suggestion of the Minister of Health. Our Society has also been involved in the formation of the new Interdisciplinary Health Forum and our representative, Mrs Ntina Themba has been elected onto the steering committee of this forum. Com m unity Physiotherapy will play a greater role in the new national health plan and a small group of physiotherapists have been attempting to meet some of the urgent needs of health care. How­ ever, it is realised that there must be a national policy for bringing physiotherapy services to the largest possible number of people. Mrs N arin a G ild e r to g e th e r w ith th e W estern P rovince C om m unity G roup in particular have drawn up a policy statement on Community physiotherapy for submission to the Department of health and other relevant departments. In addition a suggested plan of action has been tabled for the incoming NEC. Unionisation. We need once again to consider establishing a Professional Union perhaps together with other health professionals. D iscrim ination against o u r m em bers and their patients is still being investigated. There is still discrimination against us as regards tax relief for attending congresses, unfair advertising practices by certain health professionals and different levels of employment of physiotherapists as compared to teachers at special schools. Some progress has been made regarding professional pay for members doing their national service. M arketing physiotherapy as a career, finding out what bur­ saries are available and establishing how the Society can assist in improving education in black schools have all been tackled by various portfolio holders. O th e r m a tte r s th a t have been investigated are v eterin ary physiotherapy and laser equipment which does not comply with the advertised specifications. In addition the Chairman, General Secre­ tary and some members of NEC and from the different branches of the Society met with physiotherapists from the Goldfields area. We discussed some of the problems, enjoyed meeting with our col­ leagues and hopefully did come up with some solutions. This method of speaking with one another face to face seems a good one and if any other branch is having problems perhaps they should communi­ cate these to the NEC. Another m atter that needs to be solved is finding ways of improving the effectiveness and functioning of the NEC in view of the large number of members who are away from head office and the increasing costs o f travel. As this was her last term of office, Professor Beenhakker Bladsy 52 Fisioterapie, Augustus 1991, deel 47 no 3 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. )