Who We Are
POGP is Pelvic Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy, the professional membership organisation leading excellence in pelvic health physiotherapy.
POGP is a UK-based Professional Network of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Our members are chartered physiotherapists with a clinical interest and/or speciality in pelvic, obstetric and gynaecological physiotherapy.
Our Vision
The POGP aims to provide evidence-informed care and advocacy for the public and its members.
Our Values
- Excellence: we are committed to excellence in all aspects of pelvic health (clinical, leadership, research, and education)
- Collaboration: we collaborate with other professionals and patient groups who share the vision to provide support and care for our members and patients
- Advocacy: we speak out for our members to achieve their goals and our patients of all genders to provide the care they need
- Evidence: by supporting pelvic health research we aim to build the evidence base that informs our clinical work
Our Objectives
- To define and promote high standards of physiotherapy practice within the areas of obstetrics, gynaecology, urology; bladder, bowel and sexual health for men and women.
- To act in the professional interest of the chartered physiotherapist working in the fields of obstetrics, gynaecology, continence, breast surgery and sexual health .
- To encourage and provide means by which physiotherapists may improve their specialist therapeutic skills and understanding of the speciality by promoting relevant courses, workshops and research, and facilitate professional development.
- To promote and further the role of the physiotherapist in obstetrics, gynaecology, continence and sexual health and inform members of the relevant professional and political developments in those areas.
- To foster and encourage relevant research within the speciality
- To foster mutual understanding, collaboration and inter-professional learning opportunities and facilitate good working relationships between the members of the obstetric, gynaecological and continence health care teams and their professional bodies
- To promote all aspects of health education and patient care within the relevant specialties.
Our Members
- Specialise in the physiotherapeutic care of women in relation to childbirth, both antenatally and postnatally, including the delivery of antenatal classes for the woman and her partner.
- Specialise in the conservative treatment of bladder and bowel incontinence for men and women and in some cases children.
- May be involved in the care of women undergoing gynaecological and breast surgery.
- Specialise in the treatment of musculo-skeletal conditions both during pregnancy, and immediately postnatally.
- May also be specialists in the treatment of sexual dysfunction in relation to pelvic floor muscle problems for men and women.
In Obstetrics
The obstetric physiotherapist aims to prevent or alleviate the physical and emotional stresses of pregnancy and labour. This is achieved by improving the mother's physical fitness and her understanding of the changes taking place to her body during pregnancy. The obstetric physiotherapist is a skilled teacher of effective relaxation, breathing awareness and positioning and thus is able to prepare the woman and her companion for labour. The preparation of both parents for labour and parenthood is undertaken ideally in collaboration with midwives and health visitors. Where problems arise, such as backache, pelvic pain and stress incontinence, the obstetric physiotherapist is a skilled clinician in the treatment of these conditions.
Postnatally, the obstetric physiotherapist is able to help the mother in her recovery by teaching exercises, backcare and general health education, including coping with the stresses of parenthood. She can assess and alleviate such problems as a painful perineum, backache and incontinence.
In Gynaecology and Incontinence
In this field, the professional expertise of the specialist physiotherapist will maximize the opportunity for improvement of function and quality of life for those undergoing gynaecological or incontinence related surgery. Post operative outcome may be improved with appropriate rehabilitation and lifestyle measures.
POGP members may be highly skilled in the assessment, management and treatment of the pelvic floor dysfunction of women with pelvic organ prolapse or bladder and bowel incontinence.
Many POGP members will be involved with the assessment, management and treatment of male pelvic floor dysfunction which may include bladder and bowel incontinence.
In Sexual health
POGP members are experienced in recognising problems of male and female sexual dysfunction which they can help manage or refer on to psychosexual counsellors. Some members may undergo additional training to enable them to work more fully with these clients.
Our History and Constitution
POGP has been an active network of professional and enthusiastic physiotherapists for over 75 years. Our full history, information and timeline can be viewed in our POGP History section.
Our Trustees
To contact any of the key officers of POGP please use the 'contact us' page on the website.
Our POGP trustees are all full members of POGP and trustee objectives are highlighted at the top of this page. All our trustees are volunteers and use their free time, expertise and knowledge to meet the objectives within the areas of pelvic, obstetric and gynaecological physiotherapy for the benefit of our members and the public.
POGP Trustee handbook
| Chair |
Kate Lough |
| Vice Chair |
Lucia Berry |
| Secretary |
Helen Shepherd |
| Treasurer |
Kiransha R Velingkar |
| Research Officer |
Gillian Campbell |
| National Conference Committee Chair |
Debbie Plowman |
| Educational and Training Committee Chair |
Jane Dixon |
| Journal Committee Chair (Editor-in-Chief) |
Grainne Donnelly |
| Public Relations Committee Chair (Public Relations Officer) |
Danielle Alebon |
| Area Representative Coordinator |
Alex Stephenson |
| Trustee (iCSP Coordinator) |
Debbie Dillon |
| Invited member (non-trustee role) |
Bill Taylor |
| Invited member (non-trustee role) |
Sally Reffold |
To apply to become a trustee, please complete this form and then send it with your CV to info@thepogp.co.uk.
Application for board of trustee
POGP Committees
All the respective Chairs of the committees sit as trustee board members. All the trustees, committees and their teams offer their time and expertise on a voluntary basis to meet the objectives set out within their constitutions and provide growing knowledge and expertise for our members and the public.
Working as a volunteer for the committees is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a POGP team and expand your own knowledge base while providing a great adjunct to your continuing professional development portfolio.
If you are interested in becoming involved then please complete the application form
POGP committee application form
Our Subcommittees
Education and Training Committee
Our Education and Training Committee (ETC) is a highly committed team of full POGP members who strive to provide the best evidenced base, peer reviewed work for POGP. The team is responsible for a lot of the resources created by POGP including our booklets and Good Practice Statements.
You can view more information on the ETC including roles and responsibilities in the ETC Constitution available below
ETC Constitution
POGP committee application form
Journal Committee
Our Journal Committee, lead by the Editor-in-Chief, is a highly committed team of full and affiliate members who strive to meet their objectives:
- To ensure production and distribution of two editions per year which meet the established standards and to develop and co-ordinate the concurrent online content
- To work actively to acquire or commission appropriate clinical articles for publication in the Journal or for inclusion in the online content
- To develop the journal and online content in line with current practice, taking into consideration the views of JC, the Executive Committee of POGP, and the membership
- To advise and make recommendations to the POGP Executive Committee on the design, content, format, costing, printing and other developments of the Journal
You can view more information on the journal committee including roles and responsibilities in the Journal Committee Constitution available below
Journal Constitution
If you are interested in becoming involved in the journal and have an interest in becoming part of the team please contact us.
POGP committee application form
National Conference Committee
Our National Conference Committee (NCC) is a team of POGP full and affiliate members whose role is to implement and develop the POGP conference in line with the educational aims of POGP.
You can view more information on the NCC including roles and responsibilities in the NCC Constitution available below
NCC Constitution
NCC Roles and Responsibilities
If you are interested in becoming involved in the NCC and have an interest in becoming part of the team please contact us.
POGP committee application form
Area Representatives
Our area representatives are a group of POGP member volunteers from all over the United Kingdom and our overseas members who:
- Disseminate information from the executive committee to local members and in turn promoting wider understanding of POGP policies.
- Communicate local issues / information to the executive via the area representative coordinator or at the AR annual meeting
- Mentor and provide support for members within the area delegating this where appropriate and being reasonably available to listen to and advise members where possible
- Are a link person for information on local activities between the branch members/organizers and the wider POGP network (e.g. Journal and Ed subcommittees,website, Executive)
- Strive to foster good professional relationships and educational exchange with all members of the multi-professional teams of the area represented
The full role of a POGP Area Representative can be found here
AREA REP ROLES
To view our list of area representatives, more information and current vacancies please visit our dedicated Area Representative page.
If you have an interest in becoming involved with the area representatives and have an interest in joining the team please contact us.
POGP committee application form
Public Relations Committee
The Public Relations Committee (PRC), led by the Public Relations Officer (PRO), is a growing team of full and affiliate members who are keen to promote and spread POGP news and resources through various communication sources including mainstream media and social media.
You can view more information on the PRC including roles and responsibilities in the PRC Constitution available below
PRC Constitution
If you are interested in becoming involved in the PRC and have an interest in becoming part of the team please contact us.
POGP committee application form