I would like to start my guest blog by recommending some summer reading, namely Blue by John Sutherland which I know many may have read already.

So many parts of his memoires as an officer in the Metropolitan Police resonate strongly with the stories we hear on an daily basis from those attending the PTCs, and he captures perfectly the feelings many express about their colleagues;

“Sometimes I wonder how they manage to keep going. Perhaps they’re just stronger than me. Perhaps they’re holding it together better. Some people get sick, some people don’t. That’s just the way of things. But perhaps some of them are hurting, too. We all have our stories and we all have our scars.”

Blue is the perfect explanation of why the PTCs need to exist and why we are constantly looking at developing an improving our clinical services. On that note I was delighted and proud to learn that the study by Robert Gordon University into the effectiveness of the physiotherapy service at our Centres has been selected to be presented to the Physiotherapy UK conference in November as an example of clinical excellence. It will be a great opportunity to showcase the fantastic work done by our teams and is a fitting reward for their outstanding efforts.

Over recent weeks we have continued to liaise with our constituent forces wherever possible and visits to the Isle of Man Constabulary in particular and meetings with Police Scotland in advance of the launch of their Your Wellbeing Matters initiative highlight that there are some great pieces of work taking place all over the country. The goal of creating a national, cohesive approach to Police wellbeing continues to be on the agenda and I feel we have a vital role to play in these discussions as providers of treatment for police officers that is proven to produce real results.

Finally I would like to congratulate one of our physiotherapists, Steve Greenhall, on his 30 year anniversary since joining the Police Treatment Centres. Steve has worked at both St Andrews and Castlebrae during his service with the Charity and 30 years spent with one organisation is a tremendous achievement. I believe it also a reflection of the commitment that many feel to the Charity and its focus – as I approach my own 10 year anniversary I am still a comparative newcomer amongst the clinical teams and I know that there is a genuine drive amongst staff to deliver the quality of service to Police Officers that we feel they truly deserve.

I’ll finish with another quote from Blue that sums this up better than I ever could - “There’s no other job that comes close in terms of the operational complexity that police officers are faced with…they are the everyday heroes and heroines who police our streets”

Mark Oxley, Head of Clinical Services

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