Almost half of the NHS trusts in England have no dedicated funding to cover staff on maternity leave, according to new analysis that highlights growing pressure on physiotherapy services. The findings come from freedom of information requests sent to trusts by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), which found that 49% of trusts lacked both a specific budget and a policy allowing overspending to pay for maternity cover.
Disparity in NHS Trust Funding
The analysis indicates that physiotherapy departments are treated less favourably than other clinical areas when it comes to staff absences. More than one in five trusts, or 22%, stated that their maternity cover arrangements did not extend to physiotherapy staff. In contrast, only 9% of trusts reported similar gaps for nursing posts.
Women make up approximately 79% of the NHS physiotherapy workforce. The CSP warned that failing to plan for maternity leave risks leaving already overstretched teams to absorb the workload of absent colleagues. This dynamic can lead to longer waiting times for patients who require treatment and rehabilitation.
Ash James, the CSP’s director of practice and development, described the situation as deeply concerning. He noted that physiotherapy teams are significantly less likely than nursing colleagues to have access to funding for maternity cover. “When a physiotherapist goes on maternity leave, the patients needing treatment don’t disappear,” James said. “Without cover, already overstretched colleagues are left trying to absorb the workload, potentially leaving patients waiting longer for the rehabilitation they need.”
Impact on Patient Care and Recruitment
The charity is calling for equal access to maternity cover funding across all NHS professions. They are also urging the government to lift recruitment freezes and invest in the physiotherapy workforce. These calls come against a backdrop of disappearing posts and growing demand for care.
Earlier research suggested that stroke patients and others requiring intensive physiotherapy were receiving poorer care due to a lack of adequate space and equipment. That study found that four out of ten NHS physiotherapy staff had lost or expected to lose dedicated rehabilitation space. A separate survey of more than 2,000 CSP members revealed that six out of ten said their rooms had been taken over by other clinical teams, with some blaming a lack of funding or managers who did not prioritise their work.
Alastair Henderson, chair of the Patients’ Association, said the gaps in cover had direct consequences for patients. “When services are already stretched, losing staff without adequate replacement can mean longer waits for treatment and rehabilitation, less access to specialist expertise and greater pressure on remaining teams,” he said. “Patients should not have to wait longer or miss out on the care they need because the NHS has failed to plan for or cannot afford to cover predictable staff absences.”
Source: The Guardian
