Providers ‘extending waiting times due to staffing cuts’
Eight in 10 NHS physiotherapists have reported they do not have enough staff to meet demand, up by 10 percentage points since 2024.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy survey, carried out in October and the results shared with HSJ, also found 65% of respondents said their service was subject to a recruitment freeze, an increase from 58% in July 2024.
The 1,100 members surveyed also said temporary roles were not being renewed, and that many services no longer cover maternity leave.
The proportion of NHS members concerned about staffing levels being insufficient to meet patient needs grew from just under 70% in the first quarter of 2024 to 80% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Ash James, the CSP’s director of practice and development, described the recruitment freezes as “absurd” when the NHS has a “ready and waiting physiotherapy workforce”. It was leading to longer waiting times, he said.
He said: “For example, I know of a community [musculoskeletal] service where their waits are two and four weeks, based on an activity-based contract. But because the trust didn’t have the funding to be able to maintain that level of activity, to deliver that for patients, they have imposed 12-week waits on the service when it was already two to four weeks.
“The funding is having a massive impact on the delivery of care for patients. They are waiting longer, their pain is getting worse, [and] we are getting poorer health outcomes because of those longer waits.
“We don’t want patients paying the price for this when there’s a solution ready to go.” The cuts were also damaging the morale of the remaining staff, added Mr James.
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Source: HSJ, 26 January 2026