Winter during a pandemic can be hard and everyone can struggle with their mental health at times like this.
It is ok not to feel yourself but there are hints and tips that can make life easier and help with mental health
NHS Scotland are running a Fab campaign called ‘Clear your Head’ which has all sorts of tips to help people feel more like themselves.
BAPO loves to share what our members have been doing, especially when they have been featured in articles and publications. Clinical Lead for the Isle of White, and BAPO member Carol Mabey; has had a lovely interview published discussing the challenges of a prosthetic service during lockdown. To read the article click here
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists is scheduled to take place virtually on Thursday 18 March 2021 at 7pm. The Executive Committee invites all members to attend this meeting.
Agenda items are requested from all members of the Association and should be submitted in writing, no later than 11 February 2021 to the Secretariat. This will provide time for a detailed answer from the EC and membership during the AGM and will be answered even if you are unable to attend. A submitted question may be read by the member raising the issue or a member of the EC if preferred by the questioner. Where necessary, all Agenda items will be voted upon in the AGM. If any member not able to attend wishes to make representations to the AGM regarding an Agenda item, they may do so in writing up to 10 days before the meeting.
Non-Agenda questions raised in the AGM which, after discussion develop into voting issues, may be voted on in the AGM or, depending on their importance, may be placed before the whole membership with supporting information from the AGM. The EC under the Chair will decide if a vote must be placed before the whole membership or may be voted upon in the AGM.
Past AGMs have provided a time for constructive discussion of key issues concerning BAPO members and the EC hope that this AGM will be no exception.
There will be 10 Full & 2 Associate vacant seats at the time of the AGM.
Nominations for all available places require a proposer and seconder: if you would like to be considered for election please complete the Nomination Form and return together with a 100 word profile, to the Secretariat Manager no later than 11 February 2021.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course and hope you are able to attend the meeting.
Yours sincerely,
Kate Spiller
Secretary
Return Email/Post: enquiries@bapo.com
BAPO Secretariat, Unit 3011, Mile End Mill, Abbey Mill Business Centre, Paisley, Renfrewshire PA1 1JS
We are proud to partner with Dell UK to provide a range of discounts on selected IT and other benefits to our membership.
These include:
To access the benefits, login to your BAPOnline account, select resources & then Dell Member Benefits. Here you will find the link and unique ID code.
BAPO have made a statement across all the home nations on their stance regarding the new Covid-19 vaccination. The statement is below
The British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists (BAPO) is the professional body representing clinicians working in our field in the UK.
Prosthetist/orthotists are one of 14 Allied Health Professions (AHPs) providing key frontline services in the NHS. They work in many different environments from emergency care to rehabilitation, primary care to schools. Prosthetist/orthotists work with people of all ages and our roles require face to face intervention often with the most vulnerable of society.
Prosthetist/orthotists provide a clinical service to local trusts. They also travel between multiple clinic locations to support wider services such as vascular, diabetic care, paediatrics, elderly care and between different trusts.
Prosthetist/orthotists are either employed directly by the NHS or are subcontracted to provide NHS clinical services as their full-time role. Due to our small numbers, these key AHPs, working within the NHS directly with patients, can be excluded or forgotten when it comes to national initiatives such as vaccinations for front line staff.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that the first priorities for the current COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems (30th Dec 2020).
It is imperative that ALL AHP’s, including contracted Prosthetist/orthotists are included in all local vaccination plans for COVID-19 protection. Therefore, all NHS providers should ensure that Prosthetist/orthotists working within their organisation are recognised as frontline patient facing staff and are entitled to vaccination in line with national set priorities. This action will protect the staff concerned, NHS service providers and their patients, whilst ensuring that vital prosthetic and orthotic services are maintained.
We are therefore looking to NHS providers to protect our members, the patients they treat and NHS colleagues they work with.
Regarding the stance in England BAPO has received assurance from the Deputy Chief AHP Officer for England that the current national vaccination plans are to apply to ALL frontline health and care professionals, wherever they work and whoever employs them.