Chartered Society of Physiotherapy calls on Government to withdraw NHS plans

3 February 2012

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) called today for the withdrawal of the Health and Social Care Bill saying the Government has failed to take its last chance to make the radical changes needed.

The Society said the latest set of amendments to the Bill - announced by the Government this week - still do not address the serious concerns of physiotherapists and many other health professionals about the proposed NHS reforms.

The CSP called for ministers to focus on enabling health professionals to improve quality and productivity in the NHS rather than subjecting NHS staff to unnecessary structural upheaval.

CSP Chair Dr Helena Johnson said today:

“The CSP has being saying for more than a year that these are the wrong reforms at the wrong time.

“To introduce such major upheaval when the NHS needs to make enormous savings is reckless.

“Together with many other health professionals, we have tried to engage constructively and make sensible suggestions throughout the Bill's passage through Parliament.

“But time and time again, the views of patients and health professionals have been ignored. The Government seems determined to press ahead with these reforms.

“The Bill - even with these latest Government amendments - threatens the very future of the health service and will significantly damage the quality of patient care.

“So today we have written to the Health Secretary asking him, for the sake of the NHS patients, to withdraw this fundamentally flawed legislation.”

A poll of CSP members working the in the NHS carried out last year showed 81 per cent were opposed to the reforms, with nearly six in ten (58 per cent) fearing patient care would be damaged.

A report released by the CSP last month, called ‘Stretched to the limit’, revealed rationing of frontline services and cuts to budgets of nearly 10 per cent as health trusts struggle to meet the Nicholson Challenge to find £20bn of savings by 2015.

The Health Select Committee warned last month that the Government’s reforms were hindering efforts to meet that challenge.

For further media information please call the CSP press office on 020 7306 1111, email pressoffice@csp.org.uk. Out of hours please call Becca Bryant, head of press and PR (job-share) on 079172 40819, Jennie Edmondson, head of press and PR (job share) on 07786 332197, Jon Ryan, media and PR officer, on 07917 091200 or Paul Marston, media and PR officer, on 07766 994141.

ENDS

Notes to editors

‘Stretched to the Limit’ was launched at the House of Commons on Tuesday, 17 January. The report details the results of an audit of PCTs in England carried out using freedom of information laws during August and September 2011. It also includes the results of a survey of 210 senior physiotherapy managers in the NHS across the UK in July and August 2011, and a separate survey of managers carried out at a series of workshops across England. You can download a copy of ‘Stretched to the Limit from http://www.csp.org.uk/documents/stretched-limit

2. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is the UK’s professional, educational and trade union body. We have more than 50,000 members, including chartered physiotherapists, physiotherapy students and support workers.