CSP shines national spotlight on worsening physiotherapy staffing crisis

Growing numbers of CSP members are feeling the impact every day - on patient care, professional wellbeing and the sustainability of services.

Our latest member data shows that recruitment freezes, deleted posts and unfilled vacancies are now widespread across physiotherapy services, with the situation worsening quarter by quarter.

More than 80 per cent of physiotherapists now tell us they are concerned staffing levels are insufficient to meet patient need.

Many have seen colleagues leave the NHS because workloads have become increasingly overwhelming.

CSP director of practice and development, Ash James said: 'We want to thank our members for sharing their experiences with us. It is because of your input that we have managed to raise awareness of this in the media.

We understand how deeply demoralising the situation on the ground is and we will continue to apply pressure until the necessary action is taken to resolve this crisis.

What the CSP has done on safe staffing

The CSP has been taking sustained action locally and nationally to address unsafe staffing and strengthen the physiotherapy workforce.

Over the past six months, we have:

• Secured progress on safe and effective staffing guidance for AHPs, building on momentum created by member activism in 2024. This guidance is now in development for NHS organisations in England and will be a key lever for workforce planning and recruitment.
• Submitted detailed evidence to the NHS 10-Year Workforce Plan, including oral evidence to the health and care select committee, highlighting the impact of recruitment freezes and vacancy controls on physiotherapy graduates.
• Made the case for physiotherapy as a solution, not a problem, positioning workforce growth as an opportunity to deliver the three shifts in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
• Commissioned independent economic analysis demonstrating the system-wide value of physiotherapy and shared this with policymakers and members.
• Supported graduates directly, launching the CSP Graduate Support Package and delivering monthly graduate events and webinars.
• Written to the secretary of state alongside the AHP Federation raising awareness of this issue and our desired outcome and monitored workforce conditions across the UK to ensure coordinated action.

What we will do next

We will continue to press for urgent national action to:

• Lift recruitment freezes affecting frontline clinical staff
• Reinstate deleted posts and protect community rehabilitation services
• Address the bottleneck for newly qualified physiotherapists
• Embed safe staffing principles into workforce planning across the UK

How members can get involved

The information you have already shared has been powerful evidence in national discussions. We are also developing new practical resources to help you raise concerns locally in a professional, evidence-based way focused on patient safety and service quality.

You can help further by:

• Talking with colleagues and your local CSP representatives to understand risks and plan action to protect patients and staff
• Contacting your CSP localism team for advice and support
• Sharing your experiences and examples of change by emailing: staffinglevels@csp.org.uk
• Getting in touch with the press office if you have patient case studies or testimonials for the media via pressoffice@csp.org.uk