Half of last year’s England physiotherapy graduates still unemployed

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Published: 21 Jan 2008

The CSP calls for investment in sustainable services to improve patient care

Half of all physiotherapists who graduated in England in 2007 have been unable to find a physiotherapy job, according to the latest figures from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).

The new statistics are revealed by the CSP today (Monday 21 January) to raise awareness that urgent action is needed from Government to address the unmet need for physiotherapy services throughout the NHS.

The latest survey of England physiotherapy graduates by the CSP reveals that:

· Of those graduates who have been able to find work, just half have found a permanent physiotherapy contract – the other fifty per cent have had to accept short-term work

· In total almost 1800 physiotherapists who have graduated since 2005 have been unable to find a post. The cost to the taxpayer of these training places has been over £53 million

· “Talent pools” set up by Strategic Health Authorities to tackle the problem do not reflect the true numbers out of work and are not currently making a difference. Just 27% of registered graduates have received an acknowledgement and further information from their SHA

Despite a planned expansion of the workforce that was agreed to and encouraged by the Government in 2000/01, and a growing number of people requiring physiotherapy services, thousands of physiotherapist jobs have been frozen since 2005 to help the NHS reach financial equilibrium.

In 2007 the NHS reported an operating surplus of £1.8 billion.

Phil Gray, Chief Executive of the CSP, says: “We are calling on Government to make a one-off investment of £50 million to end the problem. This investment in sustainable physiotherapy services will improve patient care, delivering Government reforms to reduce waiting lists and health inequalities and bring care closer to home.

“One in ten people admitted to hospital in England have conditions for which they are likely to need physiotherapy treatment. Physiotherapy also plays a vital role in preventing long-term health problems. It is the people who need this treatment that are suffering as a result of the job shortages we have revealed today. They are faced with long waiting lists and limited access to physiotherapy services. The current situation is unacceptable.”

The CSP is warning that failure to build on the limited progress made to date and implement a sustainable solution could lead to a ‘boom and bust’ approach to workforce planning. Strategic Health Authorities have already reduced entry admissions in 2007, despite evidence of a growing unmet need for physiotherapy. Such reductions could lead to a shortage of physiotherapists in three to four years.

At one London hospital there is a wait of six months for a musculoskeletal outpatient appointment. Long waits for physiotherapy treatment are common because of financial cutbacks and lack of investment. Yet research has shown that rapid and early intervention by physiotherapists can prevent such problems from becoming long-term and chronic, thus increasing the chance of people being able to return to work, reducing costs to the NHS and incapacity benefit payments.

Physiotherapy is essential and an exciting profession to enter. Physiotherapists play a key role in treating and preventing numerous conditions. Further examples of the need for sustainable investment in physiotherapy services include:

· Cardiac rehabilitation – the British Heart Foundation estimates that only a tiny fraction of the 66,000 people newly diagnosed with heart failure each year and practically none of the 345,000 those newly diagnosed with angina will receive this rehabilitation

· Stroke rehabilitation – strokes are a leading cause of adult disability, with around 900,000 people, of all ages, living with the effects. But rehabilitation services for these people, once they have left hospital, remains a hugely under-resourced area

· Falls treatment and prevention – one in three people over the age of 65 is harmed in a fall each year in England. Research shows that physiotherapy plays a key role in falls prevention amongst this group.  Physiotherapists can undertake in-depth risk assessments and aid recovery from falls through tailored rehabilitation, working with older people to increase their strength and balance and help restore their confidence

Phil Gray adds: Commissioners have to look at the needs of their local population to identify where physiotherapists are needed to improve patient care. With a Government investment of £50 million they can put highly trained physiotherapy graduates into useful jobs and provide services that transform patients’ lives.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. For more information, please call the CSP press office on 020 7306 6616 or 6628. Out of hours please call Louise Fitzsimons on 07786 332197 or Becky Darke on 07900 160349.
 
2. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is the professional, educational and trade union body for the UK's 49,000 chartered physiotherapists, physiotherapy students and assistants. For previous releases visit www.csp.org.uk

3. 2,126 students graduated in physiotherapy in England in 2007. In December the CSP sent a survey to these graduates to ascertain their employment status.
· Just 184 out of a total of 726 graduates who replied (25%) have been able to find a permanent NHS junior physiotherapy role
· 191 (26%) are employed only on a short-term contract
· 351 (49%) have not been able to find a physiotherapy job at all

4. Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) have set up website-based talent pools and asked that all 2006 and 2007 graduates register with them. When graduates register, they are asked to sign up to the SHA which funded their training place, and to state which of the English SHAs they are prepared to work in. They are required to re-register every three months if they have not found a job. The intention is that the SHA will send the graduate information about suitable jobs and other initiatives they are undertaking to help resolve the problem of unemployment among new graduates.

412 of the graduates surveyed by the CSP answered questions about their experiences of the talent pools after they had successfully registered.
· 154 (37%) had received no contact at all after they registered
· 145 (35%) had only received an acknowledgement from their SHA and no further information
· 111 (27%) had received an acknowledgement and further information

5. A one-off investment of £50m is based on a starting salary of just over £19,000 plus £10m in on costs.

6. Most of the 1,800 physiotherapy graduates who were successful in finding a post in 2007 were graduates from 2006, thus leaving 2007 graduates without work. The Government- imposed financial cutbacks to the NHS in 2006 meant that many existing vacant posts were frozen (and left unfilled) and that new posts were not created. Without the one-off Government investment that the CSP is calling for to address the situation, this short-term problem will become a long-term issue.