Development Groups MADAM - The chairmen of Council of the College of Occupational Therapists and of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy have had discussions about how these might benefit the consumer.

The Councils have agreed to set up development groups. Small groups of occupational therapists and physiotherapists will discuss how the professions can work together to serve the short- and long-term needs of people in particular client groups.

The groups will focus on potential areas of inter-professional concern and identify how these can be resolved by drawing up guide lines for good practice. Each group will consider:

(a) The best way to provide care if two therapists are both treating the same person. (bl Acceptable limitations of practice if a member of one profession is not available. (c) The appropriateness of one therapist meeting the needs of a person supported by the other therapist, if necessary, in a consultative role. (d) The need for local inter-professional discussion on the guide lines and their implementation.

The first three groups will discuss: (a) People with neurological problems, particularly strokes. (b) Children with therapy needs up to 16 years. (c) Care of elderly people.

Any members wishing to send comments including examples of good practice in these three areas are invited to do so writing by June 30, 1988, to the Secretaries of their respective organisations. Points about the three areas should be submitted separately. All information received will be used as background material fo'r the groups.

MARGARET ELLIS FCOT Chairman, College of Occupational Therapists

SHEILA A PHILBROOK BA MCSP Chairman, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

NHS for All MADAM ~ The choice for most people with regard to health care is the National Health Service or nothing Toby Simon (February 10, 1988) does not acknowledge that the majority of physiotherapists are sti l l employed within the NHS Many physio therapy services are still developing and expanding into the priority services areas Urgent' is a relative term What is ininor t o

the sedentary worker may be major to the manual worker

Although adjacent to the largest numbers of private practitioners in the country, NHS physiotherapy Services in central London have not experienced a decrease in workload Private practitioners are often working in isolated centres and do not receive the benefits of in service training programmes, research projects and a multi disciplinary approach

Toby Simon should surely support the opportunity of equal access to an equitable service which maintains high standards of clinical practice.

ANN HUNTER M A MCSP London W1

Hospice Work and lnterferential

MADAM - I would be interested to know i f physiotherapists involved in hospice work are using inierferential for pain relief

CRYSTAL PARRY OKEDEN (Mrs) MCSP Superintendent Physiotherapist The Churchill Hospital Headington Oxford OX3 7LJ

Don't Reject Yoga

MADAM - Re 'Dangerous connections'. Physiotherapy, March - Come on, Mr Greaves! Patricia de Soissons is talking specifically about Hatha yoga which is one of eight yogic paths to god consciousness, not 'gods'. It would be almost impossible to undertake the practice of Hatha yoga without being aware of this.

In no way does one become any type of Hindu - aggressive or otherwise - by practising Hatha yoga and there are many prominent Christians, Buddhists and others (for example, Yehudi Menuhin, Thomas Merton, Alan Watts) who have used and continue to use this path for their own personal and spirtual growth.

The fact that some Hindus are now 'aggressively evangel ist ic ' does no t invalidate the points made by Patricia de Soissons. Nor does it mean that we must reject a system of therapeutics that has proved beneficial for thousands of years, and was firmly established long before the aggressively evangelistic wi tch hunts that have characterised Christian civilisation.

JESSICA E WARD MCSP Oxford

MADAM - I was surprised at the vehem ence expressed against yoga exercises in the letters page of Phys/otherapy (March issue\ The therapeutic value of yoga has in fact been well documented, especially for conditions such as asthma (Nagarathna and Nagendra, 1985) and stress (Wilson, 1985)

Respiratory physiotherapists also know that patients who have practised yoga are able to do diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation w i th minimal training

I fa i l t o unders tand M r Greaves' convoluted logic in associating yoga w i th aggressive evangelism Yoga exercises are one aspect of the yoga lifestyle, which also incorporates non violence, healthy eating, meditation and breathing exercises The yoga lifestyle has traditionally been associated with the Hindu religion, but is now practised worldwide by those of all religions Hinduism is one of the world's more peaceful religions, but doubtless has its lunatic fringe which uses the label for non religious purposes Perhaps we should ban Christianity because of what is happening in parts of Northern Ireland'

I have encouraged many of my patients to take up yoga, and all without exception have found it beneficial ALEXANDRA HOUGH BA MCSP DipTP London SE1

Nagarathna, R and Nagendra, H R ( 1 985) . 'Yoga for bronchial asthma: a controlled study'. British Medical Journal. 291,

Wilson, S R ( 1 985). 'Therapeutic processes in a yoga ashram', American Journal of Psychotherapy, 39, 2, 253 - 262.

1077 - 1079.

Physiotherapy, April 1988, vol 74, no 4 183