It has been a busy two months for the Faculty following my last update. I am pleased to say that we have submitted responses to both the Draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and the Sport Duty of Care government consultations, which you can find on our consultations webpage.

Whilst our response to the Cycling and Walking Strategy centered around the importance of how we can increase physical activity levels and the role the NHS can play, our respionse to the Sport Duty of Care Review focused on ensuring the specialty of Sport and Exercise Medicine is recognised, as the professional standard, when it comes to the medical care of athletes and participants at all levels of sport and exercise.

I was also in the fortunate position to be able to meet Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who is leading the Sport Duty of Care Review, to discuss how we can create a register for catastrophic injury in sport. The FSEM looked at injury data collection across sport in 2013 and found that very little collection of data was taking place. Every sport should have a duty to collect data and understand risk. Without good injury data it is impossible to comment on risk and make sensible recommendations on rule changes.

We are also engaging with other key groups in our mission to promote better health for the public through Musculoskeletal Medicine, Exercise Medicine and Team Care:

• The Cancer Workforce Summit
• The Richmond Group of charities, working together to improve the physical activity agenda for those living with long term conditions
• The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity CIMSPA

We may be able to help the Richmond Group via our GP physical activity and lifestyle clinical priority project. And, alongside the Royal College of Physicians in London and Royal College of General Practitioners, we have a representative at CIMSPA ,the newly appointed body with a remit of establishing one set of standards for exercise professionals.

If you would like to find out more about how the FSEM is working to engage with policy makers and influence the healthcare landscape, please visit our policy and public affairs pages.

Dr Paul D Jackson, President of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine