The BBC, Daily Mirror, LBC and more than 400 commercial radio stations carried stories about deteriorating conditions for NHS physiotherapy staff, based on our latest member survey.
The CSP press office used the survey results to call on the UK government and NHS leaders to urgently lift recruitment freezes, protect rehabilitation facilities and invest in the physiotherapy workforce to ensure patients can access timely rehabilitation and make the best possible recovery.
Chief executive John Cowman spoke to local BBC radio and CSP director of practice and development Ash James was featured in news bulletins on commercial stations across the country.
Meanwhile, Rob Yeldham, CSP director of strategy, told the Daily Mirror:
More services are freezing recruitment, deleting physiotherapy posts and cutting rehabilitation space at a time when demand continues to grow.
'The result is that patients are waiting longer for treatment, receiving less rehabilitation, recovering more slowly and some are living with avoidable disability as a result.
'Every patient deserves the opportunity to make the best possible recovery, but our members are telling us they are increasingly unable to provide the quality and intensity of rehabilitation people need because services simply don't have the staff, space or equipment.
'The government cannot deliver on its promise to build a better NHS while rehabilitation services continue to deteriorate. You cannot cut waiting lists, keep people out of hospital or shift care into the community while dismantling the very services that make those ambitions possible.'
The latest quarterly member survey shows rehabilitation services are under growing pressure across the NHS, with more cuts to staff, resources and space, despite rising demand.
79 per cent of NHS physiotherapy staff are now concerned that staffing levels are insufficient to meet patient demand.
More than two-thirds (68 per cent) reports recruitment freezes within their services which has risen sharply from 53 per cent a year ago.
Over a third (37 per cent) report physiotherapy posts have been deleted within their service, up from 30 per cent last year, whilst 30 per cent report cuts to entire services.
These cuts and freezes were having a severe impact on services, members said:
77 per cent of physiotherapy staff say they are unable offer the quality of rehab patients need
65 per cent say they don't have access to the rehab equipment patients need
56 per cent say the loss of rehabilitation space is leading to an increase in disability among patients
The CSP leadership team thanked members for taking part in the quarterly member survey and said the media coverage demonstrated the value of their contributions.
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