Patients needing physiotherapy ‘not getting quality of care they deserve’ amid rising service cuts

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The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said that NHS services are freezing recruitment, “deleting” posts and cutting back rehab space in the health service.

As a result, patients are waiting longer for care, getting less rehabilitation and “living with avoidable disability”, it said.

A poll from the society has revealed that many physiotherapists in England are concerned about cuts to services.

The June survey of 548 physiotherapists in England found that more than three-quarters (79%) of NHS physiotherapists are concerned staffing levels are insufficient to meet patient need.

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Meanwhile, some 72% reported recruitment freezes in their service, up from 63% in 2025, while more than a third (37%) said that posts have been “deleted” within their service and 30% reported cuts to entire services

Almost a third (32%) said that as a result there was reduced time with patients.

A third (34%) of NHS physiotherapists reported dedicated rehabilitation space had been “lost” while 47% say patients are experiencing increased disability because of the loss of rehabilitation space.

And 74% of NHS physiotherapists say they cannot provide the quality of rehabilitation patients need, while 27% say they are seeing fewer patients each week.

Meanwhile, one in five (20%) reported that waiting times for their service had increased.

The CSP said the poll comes as the NHS seeks to move more care away from hospital and into the community.

But it warned that the ambitions may not be achieved while physiotherapy posts and rehabilitation spaces are “eroded”.

It has called on the Government and the NHS in England to lift recruitment freezes, protect rehabilitation facilities and invest in the physiotherapy workforce.

Rob Yeldham, director of policy at CSP, said: “More services are freezing recruitment, deleting physiotherapy posts and cutting rehabilitation space at a time when demand continues to grow.

“The result is that patients are waiting longer for treatment, receiving less rehabilitation, recovering more slowly and some are living with avoidable disability as a result.

“Every patient deserves the opportunity to make the best possible recovery, but our members are telling us they are increasingly unable to provide the quality and intensity of rehabilitation people need because services simply don’t have the staff, space or equipment.

“Physios and rehab support workers face burnout as more rehabilitation space is lost, and patients in more areas are not getting the quality of care they deserve.”

He added: “The Government cannot deliver on its promise to build a better NHS while rehabilitation services continue to deteriorate.

“You cannot cut waiting lists, keep people out of hospital or shift care into the community while dismantling the very services that make those ambitions possible.

“It must urgently invest in the physiotherapy workforce and ensure every patient can access the high-quality rehabilitation they need to recover.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Community health services, including rehabilitation services, play a vital role in helping people recover, regain independence and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

“We recognise the importance of these services as a fundamental part of the health and care system and are taking action to strengthen community care, improve access and support our ambition to deliver more care closer to people’s homes.

“Through our plans for the NHS, backed by record investment, we are building a health service that is fit for the future and ensuring patients can access the care and support they need, when they need it.”