The CSP has welcomed the publication of NHS England’s latest reforms, which agree to implement many of the proposals we asked to see in the upcoming 10 year plan.
After launching healthcare reforms and a social care commission, Health Secretary Wes Streeting highlighted the importance of rehabilitation in making the NHS work.
He said in a response to a question from physiotherapist and MP Rachel Maskell:
Rehab is key not just to good recovery but to prevention of future demand on the NHS… Whether in the NHS or in social care, we definitely need to do more on rehabilitation, because rehabilitation is often secondary prevention
In the CSP’s submission to NHS England’s Ten Year Plan consultation, we called for people to have universal access to rehabilitation, recognising its untapped potential and importance to outcomes on a par with medicines and surgery.
NHS England's Reforming elective care for patients plan, published on Monday (6 January), unveiled its ambition of ‘optimising the care patients receive before, during and after surgery’, recognising the importance prehab and rehabilitation plays in increasing productivity by reducing cancellations and preventing readmissions.
More funding for rehab
MP Anna Dixon echoed Wes Streeting’s comments, adding in a speech in parliament following Monday’s announcement that ‘rapid discharge and rehabilitation… are obviously both critical to tackling NHS backlogs’. She called for revisions to the Better Care Fund to invest in rehabilitation and discharge services, to roll out innovations seen in her Bristol constituency.
The Reforming elective care for patients plan set out how NHS England would improve people’s access to and experience of routine care, including meeting waiting list targets by 2029.
Increased access to patient data
The CSP also asked the government for improved access to quality rehabilitation through better use of data and technology, supporting this with education and training, fit-for-purpose systems and infrastructure and leadership.
We have also welcomed announced upgrades to the NHS app and greater rollout of the Federated Data Platform under the plan, to increase patient choice and health data sharing while maintaining options for those in digital poverty.
The plan also backed the rollout of one-stop-shop clinics to help give patients greater choice over their care, paving the way for an increase in Community Appointment Days called for in the CSP’s submission on NHS reforms. These have cut waiting lists and optimised patient care in sites across the country including Crawley, Southampton, London, the Isle of Wight and a successful East Sussex pilot.
The elective reform plan also announced the creation of 17 new surgical hubs, which are expected to significantly increase the need for rehabilitation support.
‘We welcome changes our members have been calling for to improve patient outcomes, but it does not address the urgent need to ensure there are enough NHS staff in the community to carry out these plans,’ said Sara Hazzard, assistant director at the CSP.
We have a healthy pipeline of people qualified in physiotherapy and we need the posts created. Physiotherapy has an important role to ease the pressures on the system and help people who often feel increasingly desperate.
‘Hundreds of thousands are waiting for musculoskeletal appointments. The solution? Enough physiotherapy roles to meet the demand and deliver care at the right time and place. Stroke recovery after leaving hospital so people don't fall off a cliff edge? The solution? Create more physiotherapy roles. And the list goes on.
‘It all requires a commitment to hire more physios and support staff - and with the right funding, this is absolutely achievable.'
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