Visit from Karen Middleton

Karen Middleton, CEO of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), visited the Trust on Monday 19 June 2017.

Her visit coincided with workout @ work week, an initiative promoted by the CSP that encourages people to increase physical activity within their working day. Across the Trust there are activities throughout the week including walking and cycling at Mount Vernon and yoga at Fieldhead.

Karen Middleton CBE joined the CSP as chief executive in February 2014 from NHS England (formerly the Department of Health). In her last post, which she held for almost seven years, Karen was chief health professions officer, leading more than 80,000 physiotherapists and other allied health professionals in the NHS and other sectors.

Karen has raised the profile of physiotherapists and other allied health professionals by speaking at a range of national and international events. She led a range of programmes that modernised the careers of allied health professionals, using a competency-based approach to workforce development.

Earlier this year Karen was made visiting professor at Leeds Beckett University in the faculty of health and social sciences. She is the CSP’s first woman chief executive, and also the first to be a member of the physiotherapy profession. The CSP has over 53,000 members.

During her visit to Barnsley Karen saw the patient group observation therapy suite, heard presentations from a wide range of services and met physiotherapists from various teams. She also visited the hydrotherapy service at Hoyland Leisure Centre. Karen commented that it was great listening to staff about the services they delivered.