CNHC News
ASA Advertising Remit
NHS CAM August Newsletter
Sports Massage Volunteers
The London Massage Company is looking for volunteers who would like to be assessed and treated for an injury or condition that they may have, at a free sports massage clinic on either 24 or 26 August 2010. You are more than suitable if you have any aches and pains from training, or one or more of the following:
· Tight hamstrings
· A stiff neck
· Sore elbows
· Weak ankles
· Tight calf muscles
· Sore shoulders
· Back pain
Sports injuries and massage diploma students from the London Massage Company who are at the last days of their course will carry out the treatments. All students are skilled in the assessment of a wide range of injuries, including those in the hand and wrist, knee, shoulder and hips and fully insured for their practise.
The clinic is free to all attendees and will be held at The British School of Osteopathy in Borough (BSO) Teaching Centre, 275 Borough High Street (http://www.bso.ac.uk/mm6cnts.htm)
Slots are two-hourly and are as follows:
· 09.30 - 11.30
· 12.00 - 14.00
· 15.00 - 17.00 (Only available on Tuesday now)
During this time the students will carry out an assessment of your injury/condition before carrying out your treatment. All the students and clinic attendees will be in one room together (but dividing screens will be used) and you will be seen on a one to-one basis. It is highly likely that you will be required to remove an item/s of clothing, but the usual massage protocol and discretion will be followed by the students at all times.
Before your time slot is confirmed, we ask that attendees complete and return the questionnaire (click here) by email to ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com
The questionnaire not only rules out conditions unsuitable for sports massage but also helps us ascertain how best to treat you on the day. We are taking bookings on a first-come, first-served basis and will confirm preferred time slots once having read the completed questionnaire.
Work with British athletes!
With the Olympic Games just two years away, there is a great opportunity to assist our athletes achieve their potential: those who have realistic medal prospects, and those who may develop into world class prospects, with sports soft tissue therapies. The Sports and Remedial Therapies Council (SRTC) is now the Official Benefit Provider of sports therapy and sports massage therapy to the British Athletes Commission (BAC).The FHT, as a founder member of the SRTC, the official therapy governing body for sports and remedial therapy, is proud to be associated with such an initiative.The BAC is the member association for British athletes. It now represents and supports many Olympic, Paralympic and World Class funded elite athletes. The BAC membership includes those expected to bring in medals; those recognised as development athletes; and those in the Talented Athletes Sponsorship Scheme (TASS) who are college and university students showing potential and receiving little to no funding. The BAC also represents many retired athletes.
The BAC has such well known Olympians as Karen Pickering (swimming) and Georgina Harland (modern pentathlon) on its Executive Committee, and works very closely with sports authorities and the sports industry to enhance the prospects of its athletes.The BAC recognises how vitally important it is that these athletes get sports therapy treatment to help them recover from training and prevent injury and they are equally concerned that they get only the best quality treatment. An SRTC Committee member, himself an independent sports therapist to both Olympic teams and Olympic athletes, has brokered the agreement that suitably qualified, insured and experienced sports and remedial therapists will make themselves available to support BAC members with discounted treatments.For more information on the SRTC/BAC partnership click hereFor more information on the British Athletes Commission click here ( www.britishathletes.org )For more information on the Sports and Remedial Therapies Council click here ( www.thesrtc.org.uk )
Mis-selling & Scam Update
Update - Trading Standards Advice
The FHT has been in touch with Trading Standards to seek advice on behalf of its membership regarding the Distance Selling Regulations. We have been informed that these regulations do not apply to businesses and that any organisation that starts quoting Distance Selling rights to a business clearly has little grasp of the law in this country. For Distance Selling the consumer means any person who, in buying something, is acting for purposes that are outside their business.
The key features of the Distance Selling regulations are that the seller must give consumers clear information including details of the goods or services offered, delivery arrangements and payment, the supplier's details and the consumer's cancellation right before they buy (known as prior information). They must also provide this information in writing and the consumer has a cooling-off period of seven working days. We have also been advised that where a therapist has requested further information, terms and conditions or is awaiting confirmation of the services discussed during a telephone conversation they are not obliged to make a payment to the seller.
Also remember that it is foolhardy to make a payment over the telephone without having first understood the terms and conditions of a service, or without seeing a copy of an agreement or contract. Do not be harassed or pressurised into agreeing to anything or making a payment without being totally satisfied with the product or service being offered. Many organisations guilty of mis-selling will attempt to get you to make a payment over the telephone by offering you discounts which are only available if made there and then. Don’t be fooled by this tactic but await confirmation of services, cancellation rights, proof of artwork and terms and conditions.
Another point of note that has saved the skin of many small businesses over the years is to make any payment - over £100 - by credit card. This will give them the additional protection of Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 - for any provable breach of contract or misrepresentation by the supplier - you can seek redress from the credit card provider. The definition of consumer/individual in this particular Act is wide and encompasses most small businesses that are not corporate bodies.
And finally, always check the legitimacy of the organisation before agreeing to anything. Contact your local Trading Standards Office if you think you are a victim of mis-selling.
1. Advertising Mis-selling
You may have received an unsolicited telephone call from a marketing company saying that they are conducting marketing research for a massage training company. The caller is requesting the therapists' address to be able to send a questionnaire.
The FHT cannot confirm the credibility of this organisation and we strongly advise you not to provide the company with your personal details.
It is extremely unlikely that this is a legitimate market research company as telephone contact usually involves questions being asked over the phone. The FHT is aware of many scam callers intended to obtain personal information which can then be sold onto marketing companies and used for Spam marketing activity. It may be that the caller has accessed your telephone number from the FHT website which clearly states that therapists' details are for appointments only and should not be used for commercial purposes.
The FHT does not give out members' details to third parties.
The FHT has written to the massage training company behind the marketing research telephone calls instructing them to desist or risk further action from the FHT.
3. Surgery & Pharmacy Advertising - Buyer Beware
The FHT is receiving an increasing number of complaints from therapists about media companies selling local advertising space in local GP surgeries, pharmacies and leisure centres. The offer is to pay for advertising space on pharmacy leaflets, GP and leisure centre appointment cards. Unfortunately the complaints we are receiving relate to mis-selling of the service in one or more of the following ways.
London 2012 Volunteers
NHS CAM July Newsletter
Homeopathy attacked at BMA conference
British supporters of homeopathy, including GPs, medical experts, MPs and patients, are disappointed by motions carried against homeopathy at today’s conference of the British Medical Association in Brighton.. Click for more
ISA-registration on hold
The UK's government backed voluntary regulator for complementary therapists, the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) www.cnhc.org.uk, will open its register to qualified* naturopathy practitioners on 5th July 2010. The FHT was instrumental in negotiating the 6 month 'early bird' registration fee with the CNHC enabling naturopathy practitioners to save £15 on the normal fee of £45 when registering within 6 months of opening.
Practitioners on the CNHC Register are able to display the CNHC quality mark (above) in their practice and in publicity materials such as leaflets and websites. This quality mark is becoming the general public’s guide to identifying best practice in complementary healthcare provision.
Kate Ling, Head of European and Specialist Legislation at the Department of Health confirmed that "CNHC is the only voluntary regulatory body for complementary healthcare which has official government backing. No other organisation has the same exacting criteria or focus on patient safety and quality across a range of therapies".
FHT members qualified in naturopathy, as well as the other professions on the register, can register via the FHT by completing the CNHC registration form click here.
* Qualified to minimum National Occupation Standard (NOS)
For more information visit www.fht.org.uk/publicaffairs
FHT steps down from forums
Please log In to view this article
World Massage Conference
The World’s Largest Event in the History of Massage is About to Begin
We’ve been big supporters of the World Massage Conference. It has been the largest event in the history of massage two years in a row and this year promises to be even bigger.
Some of the top massage educators will be coming into your living room this Spring: June 7th and 8th and Fall: November 15th and 16th through this unique virtual conference.
Attending a virtual conference couldn’t be any easier. You simply register and then log into the World Massage Conference website.
The presentations will be broadcast live during the event dates. You simply watch on your computer. You can IM the presenter questions at any time before or during the broadcast and they’ll answer as many as possible. You can also chat personally with most presenters immediately after their presentations in the online chat room. Also be sure to visit the virtual lounge where you can connect with fellow practitioners from around the world. And like any conference, browse the aisles of the interactive virtual tradeshow.
Register for the Spring 2010 now and you’ll get FREE access to the Fall 2010 conference. Save you place now:
http://worldmassageconference.com/
You’ll be able to learn form the top massage experts from around the world. Here is just a partial list:
Eric Dalton - The 42-Pound Head
Sandy Fritz - Documentation for Better Outcomes
Andrew Biel - Trailguide to the Human Body
James Waslawski - Treatment of Complicated Knee Conditions
Til Luchau – Myofascial Approaches to Headache Treatment
Dr. Kerry D’Ambrogio - Muscle Energy Technique
Mary Nelson - Founder of La Stone Therapy
Robert Schleip - International Fascial Congress Report
Laura Allen - Ethics in Massage Therapy
Doug Alexander - Nerve Mobilization
Thomas Myers - Anatomy Trains
Dr Leon Chaitow - Research in Massage and Bodywork
Natalie Celia - Bamboo Fusion
Dr Joe Muscolino - Assessment through Palpation
Bruce Baltz - Active Isolated Stretching
Lisa Curran Parenteau - Women in Bodywork Business
Angie Patrick - Women in Bodywork Business
Cherie Sohnen-Moe - Women in Bodywork Business
Jenn Sommermann - Women in Bodywork Business
Ruth Werner - Women in Bodywork Business
Diana Thompson - Record Keeping for MTs
Whitney Lowe - Orthopedic Assessment
Michael Buck - Vedic Thai Yoga
Eric Brown - Effortless Chair Massage
Steve Capellini - Touched by Untouchables
Ben Benjamin - Neck and Back Pain Myths
Gloria Coppola - Lomi Lomi
Heath and Nicole Reed - Thai Massage on the Table
Susan Salvo - Massage and Cancer
Christopher Alvarado & Angela Palmier - Research Rocks
And more to be announced...
It would cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars to get to hear any one of these experts in real life, but you can get personal access to all of them for just $97 for a very limited time.
For more information or to register, go here now:
Please be advised that this company have many complaints against them, including police crime notifications.
If you are approached by this company, the FHT advise that you do not take up their advertising offer.
Please contact us on 0844 875 2022 if you have any concerns regarding this issue.
Statement from FIH
Do you enjoy meeting other therapists
The FHT is pleased to announce that in 2010 it will be launching three new conferences in 2010. These conferences are set to •inspire educate, reflect best practice,• reflect the industry, •be forward looking, •challenge and debate. The conference programme synopsis is below:
A thought provoking one-day conference held at the historic King’s Fund (pictured above) to address the latest research, best practice and issues for therapists practising or considering practising on pregnant clients.
With so many clients suffering from sensitive or problem skin, what is best for clients? This conference will discuss skin conditions and the ageing process, and how we as therapists can assist in the improvement of treatable conditions. It will also explore the issues surrounding high risk treatments.
This conference will explore the use of sports therapy by elite sportspeople, and how to succeed in the sports industry. Featuring the latest in injury recognition and treatments, this one-day conference is set to inspire.Key note speakers to be announced soon...
Conference places are £45.00 for FHT members if booked before the 31st July and £50.00 thereafter. Non-members tickets are priced at £105.
To reserve your place please email events@fht.org.uk to register your interest. Conference tickets will go on sale from April 2010.
Gain CPD points online with A&P modules
Does your current knowledge on Anatomy and Physiology seem skeleton-thin? Does the thought of digging up old textbooks make your respiratory organs contract?
We have a user-friendly solution for you. The FHT has teamed up with Essentials for Health (an FHT-accredited qualification provider) to help you flesh out your knowledge with a great CPD education tool: An innovative film-based virtual classroom featuring one of the UK’s leading A&P teachers, physiotherapist and FHT trainer, Jane Johnson.
Jane has been fascinated with A&P from an early age and has enjoyed studying and practising fitness, health and massage for more than 10 years. She has a masters degree in health and exercise behaviour and is passionate about helping adults to learn about the structure and function of their bodies.
You can study each individual body system online CPD module and enjoy a 5% discount as a FHT member.
A full revision aid package is also available, covering all of the body systems. This includes access to the course material, including information sheets and interactive quizzes, for a full year, providing you have broadband.
For further details click here.
Volunteers Required
Each year the FHT receives requests from Charities for support at major national events. Last year FHT members volunteered for events at the London Marathon, Great North Run, Great Charity Bike Ride and the Great South Run. As usual we will be looking for volunteers to link to charities to perform massage on charity runners. This year, the FHT has already been approached by the Stoke Association and Breakthrough Breast Cancer for volunteers. For further information on the charities, please visit: http://breakthrough.org.uk/ http://www.stroke.org.uk/ If you would like to be involved in any volunteer teams at any sporting events in 2010. Please register your interest by emailing events@fht.org.uk and you can join our mailing list about volunteering at sporting events.
FHT Response to Libellous Email
The FHT is an independent, not for profit professional association that exists to represent the interests of professional therapists. It does not have any links to the new voluntary regulator for complementary and natural healthcare (CNHC) however it recognises the existence of the CNHC as the only government backed regulator with a remit to protect the public from unqualified and incompetent practitioners. The good working relationship with the regulator has been developed to ensure that your interests are paramount and not compromised.
As your professional association the FHT has a responsibility to lobby the regulator on your behalf to ensure that its structure, fees and processes reflect the best interests of practising professional therapists. Since the CNHC's inception the FHT has been successful in lobbying the regulator to reduce its intended registration fee and to simplify its registration process.
Part of this success involved the regulator agreeing to let all professional associations verify a members qualification, insurance and good standing and therefore remove the need for a registration fee to be paid to the CNHC. This service is now carried out at no cost to FHT members who choose to be regulated. The £15 referred to in the email relates only to non-members of professional associations who wish to become regulated and is a fee charged by all participating professional associations to cover the administration of this non-member service.
A condition of being able to provide this free verification service to members is that the professional association must be a member of the professional forum (lead body) for that therapy. To comply with this requirement the FHT is obliged to pay a membership fee to the Reflexology Forum. The FHT, as a not for profit organisation, now feels that the cost of joining the Reflexology Forum is not a good use of its members funds because it has not experienced any member benefit over the past 12 months.
The meeting with the regulator alluded to in the email was to seek the advice regarding the implications of this action in relation to the verification of qualified reflexologists to the CNHC register. The CNHC Registrar advised me that the conduct of the professional forum was to be determined by the profession and was not the responsibility of the regulator.
The FHT continues to inform its members that registration with the regulator is voluntary and it does not affect your right to practise.
Following this advice I drafted a motion to amend the constitution of the Reflexology Forum in an attempt to remove the high costs of its existence and subsequently reduce or remove the need for a joining fee. This motion is in the public domain and has been acknowledged by the chair of the Reflexology Forum. In the event that the Reflexology Forum chooses to ignore the motion the FHT will withdraw from this body in the interests of its members.
The reference to a multi-disciplined professional forum relates to the consideration being given by the profession, and not the regulator, to the creation of a new collective body concerned with the interests of multi-disciplined educational standards. This will not be a replacement for the single modality professional fora.
I sincerely hope that this places in context the email you may have received, attempting to discredit your professional association and the CNHC, and provides some additional information to help you understand the potential damage these detractors may cause.
Kind regards
John French Chief Executive
Good News for 2010
Good News for 2010 for membership fees and insurance prices The FHT is pleased to announce the new membership fees for 2010. Members in the UK will note that the standard fees remain the same as 2009. Members paying by Direct Debit will receive a 5% discount on the standard fees.
The FHT is also pleased to announce that FHT Ireland Members fees will be brought into line with EU Members This will mean a £12 reduction on last year's fees.
New for 2010 is the facility for FHT Ireland membership and Overseas membership to pay by Direct Debit and receive 5% discount*.
UK
Standard Fee
By Direct Debit
FHT Member
£57
£54.15
FHT Associate
£62
£58.90
FHT Non- Practitioner
£33
£31.35
FHT Student
£19.99
Not applicable
Ireland
*By Direct Debit
£68
£64.60
£28
Overseas
FHT Member ( EU)
FHT Member (non EU)
£73
£69.35
FHT Associate (EU)
FHT Associate(non EU)
£79
£75.05
*only applicable if you have a current United Kingdom Bank account
Great news for the FHT membership with UK or Ireland insurance
View the Insurance improvements page to see the great range of improvements to both the insurance policies and the reduction in fees. Click Here >>> For FHT Ireland members all treatments approved in the UK are now approved in Ireland (at renewal and with correct qualifications)
Calling all FHT therapists
Are you a qualified cranial therapist, nutritional therapist or shiatsu therapist who has been practicing for least 2 years? If the answer is yes then the FHT would like to hear from you.
The FHT is looking for members who would like to attend the meetings of the Cranial Forum, Nutritional Therapy Council, Shiatsu Forum and the British Council for Yoga on behalf of the FHT. These professional bodies are the lead bodies for the therapies and are responsible for the standards and education of the therapy they represent.
Practitioners from stakeholder professional associations and educational establishments attend these meeting 2 or 3 times a year representing the interests of professional therapists qualified in these modalities.
Travel expenses and a daily rate will be available. If you would like to represent the FHT on these bodies, please contact us at governingbodies@fht.org.uk
NHS Personal Budgets
The Department of Health has launched a consultation on allowing patients to spend their personal health budgets on a range of non-traditional treatments such as homeopathy and acupuncture. The document explains that people will be able to choose from a range of services as part of the budget system, which will be run as pilot schemes in 20 Primary Care Trust (PCT) areas. Other potential services include personal healthcare assistants, equipment and transport to attend treatments, as well as complementary therapies. The consultation closes on 8 January 2010 and the FHT will be responding on behalf of its members.
To read the full DH document on personal health budgets go to the www.fht.org.uk/personal_health_budgets
Update: FHT Medical Persons Special Interest Group (MPSIG) Margaret Hensman of the MPSIG will be writing a series of blogs for The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) over the next six months. "The wellness programme - Margaret Hensman's blog First Margaret Hensman was a nurse, then she was a reflexologist. In recent months she's brought her experience of NHS and complementary experience together in the creation of the Wellness Programme - a pilot programme offering care, support, education and therapy. Margaret will be blogging about the results of the pilot for FIH over the next six months. She begins though, by telling us what has driven her career choices and why the NHS is less good at supporting the chronically ill." The FIH was founded in 1993 by HRH The Prince of Wales to promote integrated healthcare for all. Integrated health brings together medicine with prevention, mind with body, complementary with mainstream, to reach the roots of illness.
To view Margaret's first blog, simply follow this link
Members of the public who use complementary healthcare will for the first time be able to verify that their reflexologist is registered with the first UK wide regulator. The voluntary register will open over the course of this year to a wide range of complementary and natural healthcare practitioners. Reflexology is the fourth discipline for which the register has opened this year, joining massage therapy, nutritional therapy and aromatherapy. By registering with the CNHC, reflexology practitioners will be seen as meeting the ‘gold standard’ within their field and will be entitled to display the quality mark which is given to practitioners upon registration.
Maggie Dunn, CEO of the CNHC explained: “We are delighted that CNHC is today opening its register to reflexology practitioners. Members of the public who use or are interested in using reflexology will be able to check whether the practitioner they’re seeing is registered with the CNHC.” Continues Maggie, “Public safety is paramount and it is vital that practitioners meet the CNHC minimum standards of qualification and/or experience and in addition, they are signed up to a rigorous code of conduct. Not only will people looking for a reflexologist have peace of mind but practitioners too will benefit through increased public confidence”
Reflexology is the physical act of applying pressure to the feet and hands using a variety of hand techniques. It is based on a system of zones and reflex areas that reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands. Reflexology practitioners believe that such work may bring about a physical change to the body, or improve general health. Throughout the rest of 2009, the Register will be opened to further disciplines, as they become ready and wish to register, and include: Yoga therapy, Shiatsu, Alexander technique, Bowen technique, Cranial therapy, Naturopathy and Reiki.
The FHT is regularly receiving job opportunities from employers in the healthcare, spa, beauty and sports environments, so we have now created a section in the Members Area entitled Job opportunities.
Bowen Therapists targeted with SCAM emails
Some members have brought to our attention scam emails designed to defraud therapists. Unfortunately this type of crime is on the increase, so if you are targeted please let the FHT know so that we can highlight this to our other members.
If you receive an email that contains: Hello, How are you today? My name is Mrs Caroline Graham.....
I have a client Miss Lucila Miramontes....She s having neck and back pain and She will be needing 1 hour bowen technique session.... - please ignore it.
Chief Superintendent Chris Ambler, Sussex Police Communications Department, has responded to reports in the media regarding an Indian head massage service available to staff working at contact centres. Mr Ambler said:
An Indian head and shoulder massage service has been available to staff who work in our public contact centre at HQ and at our resourcing centres in Brighton and Haywards Heath since November 2005. Prior to the previous contract for this service expiring on December 31st 2008, it was reviewed in October. One of the considerations was the current economic climate and the Communications Department command team did consider not renewing the service.Ultimately, however, it was decided that the undoubted positive benefits it provides directly to our staff (and, through them, the service we provide each year to the 1.5 million callers) far outweighs its relatively modest cost.The contract is currently out to tender so that we can secure a competitive price for the service (our maximum budget is confidential due to the procurement process). However, it would be safe to say that the cost of renewing the service will be substantially less than the £10,000 per year reported in the media.The service is an important part of our comprehensive well-being and retention programme and is regularly oversubscribed by staff. Our resourcing centres continue to deliver excellent emergency call-answering performance, with very high levels of customer service consistently reported.This consistent level of service would not be possible without the hard work of our team of call takers, who are required to deal with (often distressed) callers whilst maintaining a calm and professional air throughout.Musculoskeletal injuries are a major cause of contact centre absence and discomfort because of the nature of the job. This includes long periods of time sitting plugged into the desk, the use of keyboards and having to take stressful calls.Indian head and shoulder massage, which also includes arms and fingers, has been shown to be extremely beneficial to those who receive it. The service is widely used in other organisations which use call centres and is certainly not unique to Sussex Police.The service is provided once a fortnight at each of our three main contact centre sites - Brighton, Haywards Heath and Lewes HQ. A one hour slot at each site is provided by two qualified staff, the hour being broken down into fifteen minute massage slots. Therefore, a maximum of 24 staff receive this service every fortnight.Staff feedback for the service, both directly and via focus groups, has been hugely positive. The general feedback is that they find the service beneficial and there is also a clear recognition that this is an investment in them by the force.It s not possible to state whether providing the massage service reduces staff sickness. However, as an important part of our overall investment in well-being activities, we are confident it plays an effective preventative role.We are similarly confident that it contributes to our retention of qualified staff, thereby helping to reduce recruitment and retraining costs. Police staff retention rates have been very high for some period now. Picture Credit: Folia, Marin Conic