Physiotherapists 'can't get work'

Half of all physiotherapists who graduated last year in England cannot find jobs, according to a survey released to the BBC. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said the government should act urgently to sort out the problem, as NHS money has paid for their training.

In some parts of the country patients are waiting months to see a physio. The government admitted there was a problem, but said steps were being taken to try to solve it.

The health service - which is responsible for funding training costs of around £30,000 per graduate - adjusts the number of physios it asks universities to train according to its workforce needs. But in the last couple of years graduates have found themselves frozen out of entry level jobs as the NHS has worked to get rid of financial deficits. The CSP sent a survey to the 2,126 physiotherapists who graduated in 2007.

Of the 726 who responded only 184 had found a permanent NHS junior post and another 191 were employed on short term contracts. Overall, the CSP estimates 1,800 physiotherapists who have graduated since 2005 have not been able to find work, potentially wasting the £53m it cost to train them. Now the NHS in England is forecasting a substantial surplus for this financial year Phil Gray, CPS chief executive, wants the government to employ the backlog of graduates in the health service.

He said: "We are calling on the government to put in a one-off investment of £50m, compared to £53m of taxpayers' money which is currently being wasted."

Alex Sayer is one of last year's physiotherapy graduates from the University of Plymouth. By now she hoped to be using her skills to look after patients in the NHS. Instead Alex is working in a surf wear shop in the city, and is about to start voluntary work on top of her job.

"I'm worried after all these months that if I don't use them my skills will deteriorate: it's inevitable if I can't use them," she said. Alex is now pinning her hopes on a recently advertised NHS job in Liskeard, but the competition is likely to be tough.

The University of Plymouth said its graduates have managed better than the national average - with a little over half finding some kind of physiotherapy job. But that still leaves a significant minority chasing jobs.

Bernhard Haas is deputy head of the School for Health Professions at the university. He set up the physio training programme to meet the predicted demand from the NHS. Last year's graduates are the first to finish training. If they don't get jobs it will create a backlog - they will all be chasing the same entry level posts.

Mr Haas said: "It is very frustrating because the work is out there, the patients are waiting to be seen. Physiotherapists are key to rehabilitation, helping patients get out of hospitals and back into their own homes. A lack of therapists will delay that."

Strategic Health Authorities in England have set up talent pools where graduates can register for information about jobs. But the CSP said many graduates don't bother to register, and those that do often receive little more than an acknowledgement.

A Department of Health spokesman accepted that there were problems, and said work was being done to try to address them. "There is more to be done to help existing physiotherapists to progress their careers, thus creating vacancies for new qualifiers, and improving access for graduates to opportunities across the wider health and social care sectors. In some parts of country, such as West Yorkshire, newly qualified physios are using their skills in new innovative roles, working as community care officers for local authorities, helping to support hospital discharge. This enables physios to carry on practising their skills when the availability of posts in the NHS is very competitive."