A new framework document launched in Cardiff last week has urged health boards to extend physiotherapy jobs to mental health services.

'Keeping Physiotherapy in Mind: A framework for the future' was produced by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, a professional organisation for those in physiotherapy jobs in the UK. The document has several recommendations regarding how physiotherapy is provided to service users suffering from mental health problems, as well as the availability of training opportunities to staff.

The CSP report claims to show how physiotherapy can help vulnerable service users or their carers recover from mental illness. Writing in Wales Online, Phillipa Ford - policy officer for the CSP - says that physiotherapists with "specialist knowledge and experience in the mental health field" often use "physical activity and manual techniques to support personal and social indepence...manage anxiety and to develop healthier lifestyles."

"Physiotherapy also plays a key role in the management of people with serious neurological impairments who have challenging behaviour," says Ford. She says that her profession believes the "NHS needs to grow the physiotherapy service in mental health in order to deliver quality, comprehensive patient centred services."

The CSP is sending a copy of the framework document to health board target directors as well as to every community mental health team and in-patient mental health service. The document draws upon contributions from people in physiotherapy jobs who work with mental health services in Wales, as well as those who work with organisations such Mind Cymru.