Physiotherapy ‘can help GPs to spend more time with patients’

Increasing the availability of physiotherapy services could make it possible for GPs to spend longer with their patients.

This is according to a new report from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, which used its new Physiotherapy Cost Calculator to highlight the additional time that could be freed up if patients with musculoskeletal conditions had the option to see a physiotherapist as a first resort.

It was estimated that GPs could spend on average five extra minutes with patients if they made physiotherapy available at their surgery, as is the case in a number of GP surgeries across the country.

During a three-month pilot in West Cheshire, more than 700 patients accessed the service who would otherwise have seen a GP, leading to the scheme being expanded to cover all of the region's GP practices.

Karen Middleton, chief executive of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said: "More GPs are choosing to invite physiotherapists to work alongside them in surgeries up and down the country to save time and money – places like West Cheshire, where direct access to physiotherapy is being expanded, are leading the way."

A recent British Medical Association survey showed 70 per cent of GPs believe longer consultation times could help them improve their services.