WCPT Futures Forum, Singapore, 020515 /Stefan Jutterdal #WCPT2015 FuturesForum #PT

I’m Stefan Jutterdal, president of Swedish Association of Physiotherapists.

It´s great to be here, and it´s a huge challenge to be invited as a motivational speaker to the future!

I’m going to talk on the topic: move – moving – movements.

I’ve been working as a leader in healthcare since I was 25, and today I’m 58. I’ve seen a fantastic development in health care. Times has changed, and so have healthcare.

Today we are able to treat disabilities and save lives in a way that we could hardly imagine some years ago.

 

For more then 15 years I had the opportunity to hold the positions as CEO at the district hospital in Oskarshamn, and as chief of innovation in the county council of Kalmar, Sweden. I’ve seen the possibilities to improve quality and safety in healthcare, but also the hard circumstances for executive leaders in health care. How to handle the never-ending need for better health and quality and at the same time increasing costs in health care?

 

The latest 2,5 years I’ve been the proud president of the Swedish Association of PTs. Proud, because I can see the strong scientific development in the profession the last 20 years. But even though we have all this knowledge, it is not used fully by the community. As PTs we often are standing beside the influence of policy makers, beside health care development, busy enough with our own professional development. 

 

One of the biggest global challenges in health care is physical inactivity.

 In some years there is a risk that physical inactivity will be the very greatest risk factor. 

 

PTs should be the natural leaders in the area of physical activity, and also a more central part of health care development. Of course, together with the patients and together with other professions.

 

In Sweden we´ve set a goal: we want to develop from a professional organization that has to chase for being listened to – to be a professional organization which is constantly in demand and is obvious to the authorities.

  

We have worked hard with the strategic communication. Lot´s of debate articles, many meetings with policy makers, new website, and frequent used social media. We´ve told the society that PTs can provide solutions for the future.

 

PTs actions are natural for sustainable health and welfare. Person centered health care is one way to increase quality while reducing costs.  PTs ought to be more active in the implementation of person centered  health care. 

 

We also need to take part of the health care development, to be a natural part for politicians, CEOs, and other professions. We would be so much stronger as profession, if other people, outside our own profession, speaks well of us. 

Sitting the new smoking! We need to tell the world the possibilities with moving, we need to provide a movement. In all parts of life, in school, in working life, in all elderly care there must be much more moving. And for that society needs more PTs. 

 

I have a dream, that all over the world, when people meets for conferences, there would be no long sitting days. Every 20 minutes, it should be natural to stand up, take a short brake, move a bit. And we as physiotherapists ought to go in the front line, as natural leaders. In a few year my dream is to see parliament members all over the world stand up for health, to take those short breaks, and then they will think of the great possibilities with PTs.

 

But then, we must be much better to take place on the political arena, in media, to use modern facilities, IT, social medias, and our expert knowledge on moving and physical activity. We have to use both empathy and high tech. It’s not about to know, it’s about to do. To make it happen!

 

If we want to transform health care we have to start with ourselves:

Transform yourself

Transform your team

Transform your organization

Transform your profession

 

Once upon a time, in my hometown, Vimmerby, in Sweden, there was a girl called Pippi Longstocking. Pippi, wellknown over the world, was an unusual young girl, strong and brave and a truth girl rebel. The author, Astrid Lindgren was born in Vimmerby, and still there are three  words we use from Astrid Lindgren; 

Responsibility, Courage and Imagination. 

And I do think this is something we need for the future, when we go from 

Move, Moving to Movement!