CSP welcomes NHS plans for urgent community services but calls for more Government backing for physio training to meet growing pressures
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has welcomed NHS England’s recent announcement to roll out urgent community response teams to support older people to remain well at home and avoid preventable hospital admissions.
From April, local health service and council teams will begin the roll out of Urgent Community Response teams as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to support England’s ageing population and those with complex needs.
It is also part of the NHS’ plans to provide more joined-up care between the health and social care sectors to provide more effective care to individuals.
According to the CSP, this latest NHS announcement aligns with one of the CSP’s key corporate priorities: to secure long-term investment in effective community rehabilitation for all those who need it.
Welcoming the new plans, CSP Chief Executive Karen Middleton said: “We welcome the roll out of rapid response teams to support our older population. Much like putting advanced practice physiotherapists in GP surgeries across the country, it enables patients to get faster access to specialist support, which not only saves time and money for the NHS, but is better for patients.
“With a population that is getting older, working longer and increasingly living with multiple long-term conditions, the number of physiotherapists needs to grow at a faster rate than even doctors.
“There are plenty of suitable people wanting to train but in order to increase staffing numbers, we need the government to support further expansion of physio training and investment in the physiotherapy support workforce to meet these growing needs.”