I held a Members’ Debate in the Scottish Parliament today on the reported shortage of physiotherapists in the NHS workforce in Scotland.
The debate follows the campaign “Scotland Needs More Physios” from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s which claims that Scotland does not currently educate or train enough physiotherapists to supply the workforce needs, with only 7% of the hundreds of university applicants accepted onto undergraduate physiotherapy training places.
The campaign is also supported by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland whose own research has shown many people living with long-term health conditions are not getting access to NHS physiotherapy rehab services – with the charity calling for greater access to physiotherapy through the Right to Rehab campaign as well as calls to expand the physiotherapy workforce.
My office has been inundated with constituents raising how difficult it is to access GP services across Mid Scotland and Fife. It is clear we need to resource health centres with appropriate levels of staffing and access to the required services in a community setting.
Across Scotland people know the challenges and difficulties they are having in accessing GP services. As the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy points out, Scotland’s ageing society creates a growing population of frail elderly as well as those with multiple long-term conditions that require physiotherapy in acute and community settings.
While England has increased undergraduate physiotherapy training places by 96% since 2013, Scotland’s undergraduate programmes have seen virtually no increase in the last decade.
That is why today I am making the call on the Scottish government to plan the physiotherapy workforce, increase the number of training places for Scottish domiciled undergraduates, open new apprenticeship to qualifying and meet the demand for physiotherapists that are desperately needed by Scotland’s NHS.
The wider issue I am raising here today is the failure of workforce planning in our NHS. And my main plea today to the Government is you have got to get to grips with workforce planning, for the failure in workforce planning means we simply store up problems across the NHS and failure in one area simply adds pressure in other areas.
Copy of Motion Raised for Members’ Debate Below:
Physiotherapy Workforce Shortage in Scotland
Submitted by: Alex Rowley, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour.
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
Motion reference: S6M-12559
Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Thursday, 30 May 2024
That the Parliament is concerned about the reported shortage of physiotherapists in the NHS workforce in Scotland and notes the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s campaign “Scotland needs more physios”; notes the belief that Scotland does not currently educate or train enough physiotherapists to supply the workforce needs, with, it understands, only 7% of the hundreds of university applicants accepted onto undergraduate physiotherapy training places, and that this leaves considerable scope to expand the supply of qualified physiotherapists; understands that undergraduate training places have doubled in England to meet demand, but that there has been no increase in Scotland in the last decade, meaning that, while Scottish course programmes are oversubscribed with applicants, not enough places are funded to meet the needs of Scotland’s NHS; acknowledges the reported views of physiotherapists, stating that they are finding it extremely difficult to recruit staff for their practices across Scotland, with record high vacancy rates, averaging over 10%, and that this is having an impact on existing staff morale, with increased levels of stress and work pressures; believes that the shortage of physiotherapists impacts on local communities, their services and staff, including in Mid Scotland and Fife, and further believes that physiotherapy is essential to reduce hospital admissions, speed up discharge from hospital and reduce reliance on social care, all of which are critical.
