Portuguese Physiotherapists Order marks the National Day for Stroke Patients

Today, March 31, marks the National Day of the Stroke Patient. Instituted since 2003, it aims to raise awareness among the general population of the problem that remains the leading cause of death and permanent disability in Portugal and one of the main ones in Europe, and to promote the improvement of professional health practices

Good stroke care depends on highly competent and specialised stroke professionals, says the Action Plan for Stroke in Europe 2018-2030He also underlined the importance of adequate rehabilitation, which "includes occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy, with the intervention of psychologists and social workers whenever necessary".

Physiotherapy is therefore, together with other health professions, crucial in helping stroke survivors to optimise functionality and regain autonomy.

Stroke in Portugal - reality and challenges

Invited by Portugal Stroke - Union of Survivors, Relatives and FriendsAntónio Lopes, President of the Portuguese Physiotherapists Order, was present at the session "Stroke in Portugal - Reality and challenges"This event took place on 29 March, in the António de Almeida Santos Auditorium, in the Portuguese Parliament, with the participation of the Parliamentary Health Commission. 

The President of Portugal CVA - Union of Survivors, Family and Friends, António Conceição, and the President of the Portuguese Physiotherapists Order, António Lopes, had already met on 25th March, in Viseu, where the association has its headquarters. The regular and institutional contact with associative structures of and for patients is part of the Order's Activity Plan.

Portuguese Physiotherapists Order at the National Meeting of Physiotherapy Students

The Portuguese Order of Physioterapists participated in the National Meeting of Physiotherapy Students (ENEFt), organized by the Associação Nacional de Jovens na Fisioterapia, that classifies this event as an opportunity to share knowledge and establish contacts and as the biggest meeting of students and young physiotherapists in Portugal.

The Order was represented by Afonso Neutel, member of the Board, in the opening ceremony and in the presentation of the lecture "Do we all know the scope of action of the Physiotherapists' Order?", in which it was possible to approach the Order's competences and clarify some of the questions presented.

The event, which took place in the Municipal Camping Park, in Mira Beach, between March 31st and April 3rd, also counted with the President of the Jurisdictional Council, Isabel Souza Guerra, in the Fisiomeeting, with the theme "Deontological Code and the Disciplinary Regulation".

Order of Physiotherapists affiliated to the European Association of Competent Authorities for Health Professions (EurHeCA)

The Order of Physiotherapists took part in the General Assembly of the EurHeCArepresented by the 2nd Vice-President, Conceição Bettencourt, which took place in Madrid on 31 March.

The agenda for the meeting of the association chaired by Pascale Mathieu, which brings together the competent authorities of the health professions in Europe, included a vote on new membership applications from the Order of Physiotherapists in Portugal and the College of Physiotherapists in Spain, both of which were approved unanimously.

The EurHeCA General Assembly focused on the ongoing initiatives related to the Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications and the presentation of the main developments at EU level in relation to EurHeCA's topics of interest.

The internal workings of the organisation were also discussed, such as the election of the second vice-president, a position to which Carolina Martinez-Berganza was unanimously elected.

The Order of Physiotherapists thus becomes an effective member of the EurHeCAis an organisation that provides a forum for health professionals, the scientific community and regulatory authorities, and whose main activity is to develop actions deemed useful by its members to facilitate the application of European Union legislation relating to cross-border healthcare and the mobility of health professionals within the European area, while guaranteeing patient safety.

EurHeCA represents and defends the joint vision and views of its members and represents them to the authorities at both European and international level.

The next General Assembly will take place on 14 and 15 September in Poland.

Portuguese Physiotherapists Order publishes report "Professional Profile of the Physiotherapist

The Order of Physiotherapists releases this Wednesday, March 29, the report of the "Professional Profile of the Physiotherapist"This report is produced by the Office of Studies and Planning (GEP).

The document provides the first global characterisation of these health professionals, based on the data from the Ordem dos Advogados' enrolment form, which "has allowed us to take stock of the situation by reaching the ten thousand mark and will allow us, in the medium and long term, to analyse the evolution of these same indicators", states António Lopes, in the report.

As of 13 February 2023, there were 10,208 registered physiotherapists, 73% of whom were female, reveals the report, which can be consulted hereand also includes indicators such as training and the professional context in which they work.

Gabinete de Estudos e Planeamento da Ordem dos Fisioterapeutas celebrates one year

The physiotherapists of the Planning and Studies Office were meeting today, one year after the taking office, at the headquarters of the Ordem dos Fisioterapeutas.

In addition to the report of the "Professional Profile of the Physiotherapist"GEP has given support to the Board of Directors of the Portuguese Institute of Physiotherapists by issuing opinions on different issues considered within its scope of action.

The development of an electronic platform for data recording for the evaluation of results in Physiotherapy, and an agenda for research are other projects in the execution phase.

Physiotherapists Order marks presence in the VII Espregueira Clinical Journeys

The Portuguese Physioterapists Order was present, on the 18th and 19th March, in the VII Espregueira Clinic Journeys, in Porto. The board member, Afonso Neutel, participated in the opening session representing the President António Lopes.

The Conference, under the theme Rehabilitation and Health, had 8 physiotherapists as speakers and about 500 participants, mostly physiotherapists.

According to the organisation, the event sought to contribute "to reducing the gap between scientific evidence and good practices and their availability to society". The defence of the citizen, a priority measure in the Order's objectives, was present throughout the event in its relationship with the health services provided.

Physiotherapists Order in two events of the Instituto Piaget

VIth Physiotherapy Conference

The VI Conference of Physiotherapy "Physiotherapist of the Future - version 2.0", that took place on the 24th and 25th March, at Escola Superior de Saúde Jean Piaget de Viseu, counted with the presence and intervention of the President of the Portuguese Bar Association, António Lopes.

The theme "Future challenges for the profession in the context of health care", included in the panel "Physiotherapy today", chosen by the organisation, was the motto for the presentation by the President of the Portuguese Physiotherapists' Association.

Beginning by highlighting physiotherapy as a scientific discipline, as an autonomous, regulated and self-regulated profession and also as a specific care provision, the President António Lopes underlined that professional autonomy is a shared responsibility: individual (of the professional and of the services in which he/she exercises the profession), of higher education institutions and of professional associations.

About the role of the Order, the President highlighted the attributions of regulating the access and the exercise of the profession of physiotherapist, approving the applicable technical and deontological norms and ensuring compliance with the legal and regulatory norms of the profession, as well as the exercise of disciplinary action on its members, within the framework of an autonomous disciplinary regime. In this context, he referred to the drafts, currently under public consultation, of the Regulation of the Physiotherapist Act, of the Code Deontological and the Disciplinary Regulation.

According to the organisation, the event sought to promote reflection, debate and knowledge sharing among students and professionals in the area about the reality of Physiotherapy in Portugal. The main focus was on the profile of the physiotherapy professional, addressing their skills, intervention models and the emerging areas of physiotherapy.

 

20th anniversary of the Jean Piaget School of Health in the Algarve

The Portuguese Physioterapists Order was present at the 20th anniversary of the Jean Piaget School of Health in Silves.

The ceremony took place on 24 March, in the auditorium of the campus académico de Silves, with a solemn session consisting of the Opening Table and the Table of Partner Entities. The Order was part of the latter, with the member of the Board of Directors, Pedro Rebelo, representing the President of the Portuguese Bar Association.

The Order of Physiotherapists congratulated the institution for the commemoration of two decades of history, for its contribution to the training of quality health professionals, and for the support to the development of the community in which it operates, reiterating its availability for synergies with all Teaching Institutions in the area of Physiotherapy.

Physiotherapists Association submits proposal on the implementation of physiotherapy units to the Minister of Health

The hearing requested from the Minister of Health took place this Thursday, March 16, with the participation of the President of the Portuguese Bar Association and the 1st Vice-President, who handed over the Bar Association's proposal concerning the implementation of physiotherapy units in the organization models of the National Health Service, with a view to achieving the physiotherapist's professional autonomy.

The aforementioned proposal considered the professional profile of the Physiotherapist based on the Regulation of the Physiotherapist Actcurrently in public consultation, integrating a survey and characterisation of physiotherapists in the National Health Service and System and the value of the physiotherapist as an underused resource in the ecosystem of health professions.

The proposal presented, based on the assumptions already stated, summarized the position of the Order on the need for the implementation of autonomous physiotherapy units in the referred Health Systems, characterizing the physiotherapist's consultation, the intervention records and the single health record system. With the delivery of this proposal, whose content is included in the projects in public consultationThis is another structural pillar in the process of regulating the profession.

It is the understanding of the Order of Physiotherapists that in the current context of restructuring the organisation of health services, conditions are in place for their implementation.

Physiotherapists Association meets with A3ES

The President of the Portuguese Institute of Physiotherapists, António Lopes, met this Wednesday, 15th March, with the President of the Administration Council of the Assessment and Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (A3ES), João Pinto Guerreiro.

The working meeting, requested by the Order, aimed to address several issues related to training in physiotherapy.

After an introduction on the initial training benchmark (entry level), the President of the Portuguese Association of Physiotherapists made a statement on the participation of the Association in the project to create a "European Common Training Framework" for physiotherapists, with a view to a common European curricular structure. In this context, the A3ES reiterated its interest in monitoring the developments of the initiative and, should it be consulted in the final decision process, to issue an opinion in relation to it, in line with the development of similar processes for the creation of parameters to be observed in certain training courses, with reference to international recommendations.

The creation by the Association of a system to evaluate the quality of continuous and post-graduate training, integrated into the process of creating specialties in physiotherapy, was another topic on the agenda of the meeting. The recommendation, on the part of the Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education, of a prior understanding with the Higher Education Institutions for the development of the process was noted, a position also defended by the Order.

The Physiotherapists' Association has made itself available to deepen the collaboration with A3ES, namely by participating in the respective Consultative Council, which already includes other public professional associations.

President of the Portuguese Bar Association at the inauguration of the Director of the School of Health Dr. Lopes Dias

Invited by the President of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB), the President of the Order of Physioterapists, António Lopes, was present in the ceremony of inauguration of the new Director of the Superior School of Health Dr. Lopes Dias (ESALD), also a physiotherapist, Rute Crisóstomo, that took place on 8th March, in the auditorium of the referred school.

The Director now sworn in is a teacher in the scientific area of physiotherapy and was elected for a first mandate to lead that organic unit of the IPCB.

Pedro Maciel Barbosa

Specialist physiotherapist at the Matosinhos Local Health Unit Sub-coordinator for Primary Health Care, Matosinhos Local Health Unit Visiting Assistant Professor at the Porto School of Health Member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Health - SNS Member of the General Council of the Order of Physiotherapists

Carlos Sand

Carlos Areia has been a physiotherapist since 2013, and has worked in various hospitals, clinics and clubs in both Portugal and the UK. He began his academic career at Oxford University in 2016, where he led a clinical trial comparing physiotherapy vs surgery in anterior cruciate injuries in 32 hospitals in England. In 2018 she moved to the neurosciences department, where she developed her own studies on remote monitoring of vital signs, which were implemented during the pandemic. Here he discovered his passion for data, and in 2022, he joined Digital Science as a Data Scientist. He completed his PhD earlier this year, and has more than 60 publications in journals such as The Lancet, BMJ, Cochrane, among others. He is also an honorary lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and a consultant in clinical research.

Eduardo José Brazete Carvalho Cruz

PhD in Physiotherapy from the University of Brighton, UK. Post-Doctorate in Epidemiology from the National School of Public Health at the New University of Lisbon.
Coordinator of the Studies and Planning Office of the Order of Physiotherapists. Coordinating Professor of the Physiotherapy Department of the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (ESS-IPS). President of the ESS-IPS Technical-Scientific Council. Coordinator of the Physiotherapy Department at ESS-IPS. Integrated Researcher at the Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC) (a partnership between FCM-UNL, the National School of Public Health, the University of Évora, the Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health and Santo Espírito Hospital, Terceira Island, Azores).

Sara Souto Miranda

Sara Souto Miranda has a bachelor's and master's degree in physiotherapy from the University of Aveiro, and a postgraduate qualification in adult respiratory physiotherapy from the same institution. In 2023 she completed her double doctorate in Rehabilitation Sciences/Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at the Universities of Aveiro and Maastricht (Netherlands) and is currently working as a technical-scientific advisor to the Studies and Planning Office (GEP) of the Order of Physiotherapists, and as a guest lecturer at the Piaget Institute in Vila Nova de Gaia. As a member of the Respiratory Research and Rehabilitation Laboratory at the University of Aveiro (Lab3R), she has carried out applied research in which she has assessed and treated patients with respiratory pathology, having taken part in 6 research projects. Throughout her career she has published 19 scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals with an impact factor, 1 book chapter and more than 50 abstracts in conference proceedings. She was a research volunteer at the Ciro rehabilitation centre (Centre for expertise in chronic organ failure) in the Netherlands, and is currently a member of the Guideline Methodology Network of European Respiratory Society. She was honoured by European Lung Foundation e European Respiratory Society for carrying out patient-centred research, by the Directorate General for Higher Education with a merit grant for his master's degree, and by the Ciro Centre with a grant to support research abroad.

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