Child physiotherapy in crisis – with lifelong health consequences

Intense pressure on paediatric physiotherapy, with children often waiting far longer for treatment than they should, risks causing lifelong health harms – and is affecting the mental health of practitioners themselves.

This stark warning has come from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), following a survey of paediatric physiotherapists by the Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists (APCP).

Almost all (94%) of the 155 paediatric physiotherapists polled said they were concerned about their patients being unable to access the rehab treatment they need. More than a third (38%) felt young patients are waiting far longer than they should for treatment.

This, in turn, has implications for their mental and physical health, development and long-term health prospects throughout their lives, including into adulthood, they worried.

More than a third also said that this inability to deliver the rehab that children and young people need was affecting their own mental health. A third even said they had considered leaving their jobs as a result.

In the wake of the findings, the CSP has renewed calls for a review of paediatric physiotherapy and called for rehabilitation services to feature in NHS England’s upcoming Ten Year Plan.

The reasons cited for being unable to deliver diagnosis, treatment and support are multifaceted, the CSP emphasised.

But they include staff shortages, a lack of dedicated rehab space or equipment, budget and service cuts, and ignorance from health leaders on the critical need for responsive services for children and young people with one or more long term health condition.

Georgina Ashdown, vice chair of the APCP, said: “Sadly, long wait lists and limited access to physiotherapy, due to staffing shortages and shortages of suitable rehab spaces are causing irreversible harm.

“For us as paediatric physiotherapists, it’s an agonising reality – we are acutely aware that by failing to provide timely treatment there is a risk to children’s health today, but it’s also laying the foundation for far-reaching health, social and economic problems tomorrow.

“The heart-breaking truth is that, while quality rehabilitation can transform young lives when delivered swiftly, what is currently available across acute and community settings simply isn’t enough. As we have poor data within this space, services are at risk of being further diluted without broader public recognition,” Ashdown added.

Sara Hazzard, CSP assistant director and co-chair of the Community Rehabilitation Alliance, said: “More than a third of physiotherapists surveyed report that their inability to deliver critical care is damaging their own mental health, with many contemplating leaving the profession at a time when physios are desperately needed and able to help relieve system pressures.

“This is why we urgently need a review of paediatric physiotherapy and rehabilitation services to be launched in the government’s Ten Year Plan for NHS England,” she added.

The CSP, as part of the Community Rehabilitation Alliance, is campaigning for universal access to quality rehab, highlighting how it helps people lead independent and fulfilling lives.

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