CSP Fellow Jill McClintock was made a Member of Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to physiotherapy, particularly during Covid-19.

Mrs McClintock, who lives in Belfast, has spent much of her professional life working with older people in Northern Ireland, where she was one of the pioneer founders for her specialty during a time of civil unrest in the 1970s and 80s.

She also helped to establish the Northern Ireland branch of AGILE [the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s Clinical Interest Group for Physiotherapy with Older People] and was influential in encouraging the provision and uptake of continuing professional development opportunities among specialists in this field.

As well as later being elected as Chair of national AGILE, she also served, until 2009, as the deputy head for physiotherapy services at Green Park Health Care Trust, where she was responsible for older people, special schools and spinal injuries.

In 2011 she received a fellowship from the CSP and in 2015 she was honoured at the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) congress in Singapore, where she received the WCPT’s Service Award in Practice.Commenting on her latest award, she told Frontline: ‘I am incredibly honoured and so grateful to have been awarded an MBE for my work with physiotherapy.

‘I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities to work in an incredible profession that has allowed me to work locally, nationally and internationally.’

‘I used these opportunities to guide physiotherapists and set standards relating to improving their understanding of the potential older people had when offered appropriate rehabilitation.’

International work to represent older people

In 2003, Mrs McClintock was instrumental in setting up and supporting the WCPT subgroup International Physiotherapists working with Older People (IPTOP). Jill worked for many years as a physiotherapy clinician in the National Health Service (UK) Northern Ireland, specializing in older people. Jill has developed and published guidance on assessment of risk and management of older adults with falls, and support for physicians in advice and management of physical activity in patients through all stages of osteoporosis. Jill has served with IPTOP as the first UK rep (2003), IPTOP Secretary (2007) and Vice President (2011). She has served as IPTOP Patron since 2015 and was invited to continue in this role at WCPT 2019 in Geneva.

In her various IPTOP roles, she has helped to facilitate the organization of a number of national and international events, including IPTOP congresses that have been held in Ankara, Turkey, and Boston, USA.

Speaking about her current role, as IPTOP Patron, she said: ‘This places me in an ideal position to use my involvement in the profession, clinically, managerially, and latterly in an advisory capacity to share and shape knowledge amongst physiotherapists around the world.

It has been very rewarding, particularly in relation to Covid, where my contribution to the international community, through IPTOP’s membership, has been in supporting those who offer older peoples physiotherapy services to adapt and adjust during this very difficult time.