UK: Physios for ME

[Kitty]

I don't think we are physio-bashing really, the problems arise from the way their specialism is used in parts of the NHS. There's an automatic referral built into some care pathways (e.g. psoriatic arthritis), without enough consideration about whether it's necessary or even appropriate. That's not the fault of individual physios, the issues are with the commissioners and doctors who design care pathways and recruit staff teams.

As with my arthritis, there is no clinical justification for referring most ME/CFS patients to physios. There's little or nothing they can offer. But as the NHS is likely to refer them anyway because they rarely seem to question assumptions and practices, let's have the best informed physios possible.

 

[Utsikt]

That's not the fault of individual physios, the issues are with the commissioners and doctors who design care pathways and recruit staff teams.

The physios are allowed to say that there isn’t anything they can do for the patients. Like every other specialist has to do every day.

My eye doctor doesn’t keep seeing me because he acknowledges that he can’t do anything about my visual disturbances. The neurology department refused the referral because they saw no indication of there being (detectable) neurological issues at play.

For some reason, physios just keep using the rehab tool for everything. And that’s on them. It’s irresponsible, unethical and harmful.

They are responsible themselves for sustaining the belief of illusion that physios can always help.

 

[MrMagoo]

I just want a thread on the topic of the document, not a discussion on physiotherap (y/ists) per se.

 

[Kitty]

The physios are allowed to say that there isn’t anything they can do for the patients.

Yes, which is exactly what mine did.

That doesn't stop the next patient with the same disease being auto-referred to the staff physios, though. And because there are some patients they're able to advise, the service provides some value.

Trouble is, nobody looks at the detail or asks what clinician (if any) could best help this particular patient with these particular problems. They just feed them into the sausage machine and keep ticking items off the list until all the boxes are filled.

 

[MrMagoo]

Or even a thread about “physios for ME” themselves, this really isn’t about them it’s about all physiotherapy. Normally the forum is good at parsing out topics.

 

[Utsikt]

Yes, which is exactly what mine did.

That doesn't stop the next patient with the same disease being auto-referred to the staff physios, though. And because there are some patients they're able to advise, the service provides some value.

Trouble is, nobody looks at the detail or asks what clinician (if any) could best help this particular patient with these particular problems. They just feed them into the sausage machine and keep ticking items off the list until all the boxes are filled.

Yeah, which is a separate issue.

I can see why in practical terms it’s better to have good physios absorb some of the patients, than to have no good physios at all.

The issue is that as the latest post demonstrates, physios have a hard time letting go of their tools and you end up with harmful advice even from the better situated physios.

But I think we’ve covered that already.