Wednesday, 24 February 2010

BAPO and UNISON join forces




The British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists (BAPO), has signed an agreement with UNISON, the UK’s largest healthcae union, linking the two organisations together.


The 700+ members of BAPO will be able to take advantage of the broad range of member benefits, the experienced officers and increased influence that comes with being linked to a large union.


Welcoming BAPO into the union, General Secretary, Dave Prentis, praised the work of its members saying: “I am proud that UNISON will be able to represent such a unique and valued group of professionals in the health service. Prosthetists and Orthotists play a vital role, helping many severely disabled and injured people, giving them hope and enabling them to get on with their work and lives. “The advanced work that BAPO members do in helping the public and our injured service men and women is truly amazing. No one can fail to be impressed when you see the technology and expertise that allows limbless athletes to compete in the paralympics and other sporting events or enables independent living for many who would otherwise be dependent members of our society. “This innovative partnership demonstrates clearly that the trade union movement resonates strongly with health workers. We will be stronger together and I look forward to working with BAPO and its members for many years to come.”


Steve Mottram, Chair of the BAPO said: “We are delighted to enter into this agreement with UNISON as we believe that our combined efforts will ensure that it will strengthen our ability to offer the treatments and services that our members can offer.“As one of the smallest of the Allied Health Profession groups we have found it challenging to engage with the many broad sweep initiatives that the NHS undertakes and we are certain that this partnership will be of immense benefit to our members and their patients by improving our ability to engage more effectively. “In addition to the normal benefits of membership of the Professional Association, our members are now also able to access all benefits of on offer from the UK's largest public sector union. We believe that this will be the start of an exciting period of development as the profession faces the challenges of the future.”

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