Long waits for physiotherapy ‘causing irreversible harm’ to children’

Some children as young as four are waiting up to 18 months to access NHS physiotherapy services, according to a survey of professionals in the sector.

Respondents spoke of “severe understaffing”, with one physiotherapist claiming some families whose children have suffered “devastating injuries” are forced to travel hundreds of miles for support.

Experts said the distress caused to youngsters by these delays could last a lifetime, and warned that long waits, limited access and a shortage of suitable rehab spaces are “causing irreversible harm”.

The Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists (APCP), a professional network of members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, surveyed 155 people across the UK who specialise in caring for children and teenagers.

Some 94% expressed concerns about patients accessing rehabilitation services.

Georgina Ashdown, vice chairwoman of APCP, said: “There is a devastating gap in treatment and rehabilitation available for children.

“A four to six-month wait in a baby’s or child’s life is a significant period for their rapidly growing bodies.

“Babies, children and young people have a huge capability to adapt. However, families can’t do this alone – rehabilitation support is required to help navigate unfamiliar ground and guide families in healthy directions.”

Sara Hazzard, assistant director at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and co-chairwoman of the Community Rehabilitation Alliance, said: “When a child needing rehabilitation for illness or injury does not receive it promptly, the harm and distress caused could last a lifetime.

“The fact that this is happening up and down the UK is not just unacceptable, it is failing a generation.”

Responses to the survey were anonymised, but one physiotherapist cited a four-year-old patient who was forced to wait 18 months for treatment.

Another, who has worked in physiotherapy for more than two decades, warned there will be “a whole generation of adults with poor physical health and dire mental health” due to issues with services.

They told the APCP: “We have the opportunity in childhood to stop conditions developing, to rewire pain pathways, and to provide a good relationship with diet, exercise and lifelong health beliefs.

“Musculoskeletal conditions cost the NHS around £5 billion a year so we need preventative care as well as curative otherwise this cost will keep rising as the older population grows.

“We are going to have a whole generation of adults with poor physical health and dire mental health, which will lead to an increase in unemployment and reduction in skilled workers.

“If we don’t improve the service we are able to offer children now we are going to have a generation of people that will struggle to function in society.”

One professional who works with children up to the age of 16 told the survey some families have to travel hundreds of miles for care.

“I see the impact of the lack of rehabilitation available close to home every day,” they said.

“We see families whose child has suffered the most devastating injuries, changing their and their loved one’s lives forever.

“We should be able to say to that family, ‘I am so sorry for this awful thing you are going through but there are people close to your home who will be able to help and support you’.

“What we have to actually say is that there will be limited support and to get more you will have to leave your family for three months to travel to a rehab centre 200 miles away.”

They added that some families “have not been able to make that sacrifice and have had to make the choice between getting rehab for their child and not being able to work so losing their house or going home to overstretched or even non-existent services”.

Ms Hazzard said: “Access to health services is at the heart of health equity.

“Families should not fear for their child’s health and future because they can only get help and rehabilitation if they can afford to pay.”

Another physiotherapist, the clinical lead for children under the age of six at a neurodisability service that operates in hospital and in the community, claimed “severe understaffing” is an issue.

“The heartbreaking reality is that, despite our team’s relentless dedication, many of these children are not receiving the vital care and rehabilitation they need,” they said.

“The reasons are numerous, but foremost is the severe understaffing we face.

“Our team is overwhelmed, and the workload has become unsustainable. With no end in sight, it’s increasingly difficult to provide the level of care these children deserve.”

They said there are “chronic delays in receiving essential equipment”, adding: “For instance, young children with cerebral palsy often face waits of four to six months or more for the equipment they need.

“These delays occur at a crucial stage in early intervention, which can drastically affect a child’s long-term development and the severity of their disability.”

Ms Ashdown added: “Sadly, long wait lists, limited access to physiotherapy due to staffing shortages and shortages of suitable rehab spaces are causing irreversible harm.

“For us as paediatric physiotherapists, it’s an agonising reality – we are acutely aware that by failing to provide timely treatment there is a risk to children’s health today but also laying the foundation for far-reaching health, social and economic problems tomorrow.”