By Marie Katzerova, EAHAD Central Europe Regional Coordinator, EAHAD Physiotherapists Committee member
As the EAHAD Central Europe regional coordinator (Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia), I wanted to continue my journey through the countries of my region and, in November 2019, after Slovakia and Romania, I went to share my knowledge to Budapest, the beautiful capital of Hungary.
Physiotherapists from other cities in Hungary (Pécs, Debrecen, Győr, Szeged) came to the Comprehensive Care Centre in Budapest. A total of 12 healthcare professionals and several patients of different ages and types of disabilities participated in a productive and full of collaborative spirit two-day meeting.
Since the Hungarian and Czech health and social systems are quite alike, the financing of the activities of the Haemophilia Association, such as the Children’s Haemophilia Camp, is also similar. This meant we could share our experiences very easily!
Anna Selmeczi, a local hematologist opened the meeting. Physiotherapists Adrienn Hódos and Zsuzsanna Garami gave an introductory lecture on haemophilia and activities for people with haemophilia in Hungary. The first surprise for me, however, came not from the field of physiotherapy but that of linguistics. An identical Hungarian and Czech word both in meaning and pronunciation appeared in the colleagues’ lecture – tábor (= summer camp). It was originally a Turkish word, dating from the 14th century.
My presentation started with an introduction to EAHAD and its planned activities, including an invitation to join the European Physiotherapists Network. Theoretical lectures alternated with patient consultations. For each patient, in addition to the initial examination, we focused on specific problems, set realistic goals, and outlined therapy options. All patients left with recommendations on how they can care about themselves, and with specific exercises for autotherapy.
The meeting was very fruitful, and I am glad that we were able to hold it in such a practical way. I would like to extend my thanks to all participants and organizers.