PHYSIOTHERAPY is a vital service that restores function to human bodies and makes them fit for purpose. However, we must ask if the provision of physiotherapy in our health service has become dysfunctional and if it is fit for purpose.
According to a report by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) in Scotland, cutbacks and staff shortages have led to one in five patients waiting more then four months for routine treatment. No fewer than 49,000 patients are waiting for physiotherapy, compared to 28,000 a decade ago.
The CSP says cost cutting at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde could see more job losses, affecting a further 14,000 physiotherapy patients. In South Ayrshire, 8,000 patients waited for than 50 weeks for treatment. The Scottish Government’s target is four weeks.This is becoming chronic. Physiotherapy is about quality of life, and its lack comes at a cost. It enables many patients to return to work. Its lack, therefore, can be costly to both patient and economy.
Physiotherapy, promptly applied, stops conditions becoming worse. A shortage can lead later to orthopaedic surgery which, as well as being more costly, might necessitate more time off work.
There are never enough staff in the health service. It’s almost a given. But then, in one area, it gets so out of hand that something needs to be done. That is the situation we have in NHS physiotherapy services now. To make the service fit and well again, the Scottish Government has promised to learn from the best performing boards. That sounds like a plan. But, across the board, there must also be a full workplace audit and proper workforce planning, including in acute services, where physiotherapists in community care are seemingly being redeployed.
Staff shortages should never be a given. Rectifying them might come at a cost but the cost will be greater, to patients and the health service, if nothing is done.
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