ARC 2012: Rationing and cutbacks are affecting patient care

8 February 2012

The NHS is facing 'severe rationing' on a scale that has never been seen before with financial cuts and restraints across the NHS starting to significantly impact patient care, delegates at the CSP’s annual representative conference were warned today.

File 104584 Dorothy Toyn, of the East of England regional network. Photo: Guzelian

In a motion against the rationing and restriction of practice in the NHS Dorothy Toyn from the East of England regional network warned that physiotherapists were increasingly being asked to make decisions based on financial rather than clinical reasons and to ration their care.

Ms Toyn warned that 'financial cuts' were 'really beginning to take hold.'

'I am worried to hear about the restrictions in the provision of services, financial restraints across the profession are affecting both access to physiotherapy and the service provided,' she said.

Council member Jill Barker agreed and warned that the 'severe rationing' of services was on a scale that had never been seen before across both acute and non acute NHS services.

She said that members were having their clinical autonomy removed and questioned what this message was sending to patients, commissioners and the public.

Liz Jones representing CSP members working with people with learning disabilities said that the clinical judgement of physiotherapists now seemed to 'count for nothing' when it came to making cuts in funding and services.

Delegates asked the CSP to monitor these restrictive practices and provide support to members who feel their duty of care to patients is being compromised.