European Region of WCPT

About the region

The region has received recognition as the voice of the profession at European level - by becoming a member of the European Union (EU) Commission Health Policy Forum. It has also collaborated with the European Commission on the recognition of professional qualifications, the service directive, patient mobility, healthcare developments and internal market information.

Under the EU Commission Community Action Programme, the region submitted two projects in 2006, one on guideline exercise programmes to help children avoid back pain, and the other to support smokers in giving up. Both were approved.

The region’s European Congress on Education was held in November 2004, in Estoril - Portugal. A total of 300 participants from 35 countries were present. Following the EU Directive on recognition of professional qualifications, the region held a workshop on common platforms for member organisations in May 2006 in Croatia. The meeting was also attended by EU national authorities and was part of the project to develop a common platform helping physiotherapists to migrate in the EU. The region's conference on clinical guidelines was held in November 2006.

The region has also developed a range of documents, including core standards of practice, an auditing tool, and physiotherapy service standards.

Coming up

All enquiries relating to European Region meetings should be addressed to David Gorria at info@physio-europe.org