Hello and welcome back again to the ThreeSpires Physiotherapy blog where we take a look at all things physiotherapy related. Just a short blog today about an interesting area of development in physiotherapy and the roles of physiotherapists. Something that has been being developed over a fairly length period is the idea that patients should be able to choose the kind of practitioner that they see when they go to the doctors rather than just be allocated to a GP who then decides who you may need to see. For example across many areas it has been possible to book straight in to see a physiotherapist and this has proven to be very successful in terms of reducing GP workload and in also reducing patient frustration and improving satisfaction. The new NHS long term plan which was recently released has increased this and it has even made the BBC news recently with a big article about substitute GPs!

In my opinion this is a fantastic development for physiotherapists and especially for patients. It has been shown many times in lots of trials up and down the country that patients are very good at deciding which would be the best practitioner to see them. For example if you are feeling tired, ill and generally sick then you probably need to see the GP or a nurse, you wouldn’t ask to see a physiotherapist! On the other hand, if you have a bad back or have strained your shoulder patients generally know that they should be seeing a physiotherapist. It was initially feared that patients would not know who they should see but it turns out that in reality people are very good at knowing who they should see and certainly this has been my experience as a physiotherapist. Another initial worry was that physiotherapists would not be able to pick up on red flags (signs of sinister pathologies such as cancer) but again it turns out that physiotherapists are pretty good at this and with extra training they don’t miss anymore red flags than GPs.

If you wish to read about this in more detail it is possible to follow the link here https://www.csp.org.uk/news/2019-01-31-nhs-england-announces-major-expansion-first-contact-physiotherapy-jobs 

So, great news for patient choice and great news for physiotherapists! I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. For anyone reading forthe first time: we are a home visit physiotherapy service based in Lichfield and serving Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Rugeley, Cannock and Walsall.