Physiotherapy Workforce Shortage in Scotland

That the Parliament is concerned about the reported shortage of physiotherapists in the NHS workforce in Scotland and notes the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy's campaign "Scotland needs more physios"; notes the belief that Scotland does not currently educate or train enough physiotherapists to supply the workforce needs, with, it understands, only 7% of the hundreds of university applicants accepted onto undergraduate physiotherapy training places, and that this leaves considerable scope to expand the supply of qualified physiotherapists; understands that undergraduate training places have doubled in England to meet demand, but that there has been no increase in Scotland in the last decade, meaning that, while Scottish course programmes are oversubscribed with applicants, not enough places are funded to meet the needs of Scotland’s NHS; acknowledges the reported views of physiotherapists, stating that they are finding it extremely difficult to recruit staff for their practices across Scotland, with record high vacancy rates, averaging over 10%, and that this is having an impact on existing staff morale, with increased levels of stress and work pressures; believes that the shortage of physiotherapists impacts on local communities, their services and staff, including in Mid Scotland and Fife, and further believes that physiotherapy is essential to reduce hospital admissions, speed up discharge from hospital and reduce reliance on social care, all of which are critical.