CSP pushes for expansion of physio prescribing

The CSP has called for an expansion of physiotherapists controlled drugs prescribing powers under NHS reforms.

Though physiotherapists have been safely prescribing controlled drugs for nearly a decade, a reclassification of gabapentin and pregabalin in 2019 meant they could no longer prescribe them, affecting 2,700 members of the profession.

The CSP has called for progress on a law change to update the list of controlled drugs to include theses two drugs, in addition to adding tramadol and codeine.

It made the call on the Ideas For Change platform, which is part of a national consultation on how NHS England should be run over the next ten years.

This feeds ideas from NHS workers straight through to the team writing NHS England's Ten Year Plan, plus health ministers.

Ideas for NHS change

CSP members can vote for any Idea For Change on the platform, with high numbers of votes making it more likely to be prioritised as part of NHS reforms.

CSP CEO John Cowman urged members to help shape reforms, saying:

The more we get our voices heard, the more likely we are to influence changes in the NHS.

As well as voting for the expansion of prescribing powers idea, CSP members can also back calls for routine postnatal checks with a physiotherapist. This aims to help every new mum combat abdominal or pelvic weakness, which can lead to pelvic or back pain or bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction. 

Preventative physio nationwide

Other ideas include community appointment days for those on every musculoskeletal waiting list and preventative physiotherapy targeted at low-activity groups. A national back pain campaign to help address the leading cause of sickness absence and the reason for millions of GP appointments each year was also suggested.

A number of student physiotherapists have been calling for loan forgiveness for all healthcare professionals who work in the NHS for a period after graduation.

Patients call for more physios

Patients have been weighing in too, with many for an end to physio shortages, allowing them to spend more time with patients. 

NHS worker Linda Cole said, who needs a walking aid to get about, said: ‘I need fortnightly physio, but I have been offered monthly physio as the service cannot accommodate more frequent sessions, as there are a lot of staff on maternity leave.

‘This is slowing my recovery down meaning I cannot yet return to my own NHS role. This impacts on my service too…please [increase the number of physiotherapists] so all patients can get the physiotherapist input when they need it.’

Contributor Stephen Malme added: ‘I have seen this first hand after a serious shoulder injury and more recently when my wife had a broken hip and the hospital could not arrange physio until two months after her operation. If she had waited that long any chance of a full recovery would have been unlikely.’

Stephen was forced to pay for private physiotherapy, acknowledging that those who can’t afford it are suffering the consequences of long delays.  

Another, Emal Rola, called for all physios to issue fit notes, while office worker Trevor Rayson called for in-house physios to be employed by all companies with over 50 employees for prevention and early rehabilitation.

Submit your ideas

Any proposal can be submitted to the NHS 10 Year Plan website. 

The call for ideas is part of a government consultation on how NHS England can implement three shifts - from hospitals to community, from sickness to prevention and from analogue to digital. 

If you want to influence the government’s priorities for staffing and funding under its NHS reforms, submit your ideas or fill out the consultation survey at change.nhs.uk by the end of March.