Patients are missing out on rehabilitation support that helps recovery from covid-19 because facilities are being de-prioritised by Scottish health boards.

Reports from across Scotland collated by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) reveal that spaces set aside for rehabilitation are being used for storage space and meeting rooms while the pace of re-opening and re-starting services remains slow.

The Society is warning that physios will be “critical” in the coming months as they help patients recover from coronavirus and manage long-term symptoms such as fatigue and respiratory problems.

In a double-blow the suspension of services during the pandemic means patients who have non-covid health problems might have deterioriated further and require more rehab support.

Despite this, half of CSP members in Scotland report services are unable to restart due to a loss of dedicated rehab facilities.

Examples include specialist gyms for rehab patients being used for storage in Fife and Ayrshire & Arran health boards, and the therapy department for musculo-skeletal conditions and women’s and children’s physiotherapy at Forth Valley Royal Hospital being converted to an urgent care centre.

In NHS Grampian, where services were paused in March, patients are being advised that the health board is ‘unable to return to delivery of our service as it was before the covid-19 surge’.

Experts have previously called for a ‘right to rehab’ for covid-19 patients and those have been shielding, amid concerns of a “daunting” double rehab challenge.

The CSP wrote to all regional health boards last month warning of a ‘lag in progress’ and urging them to prioritise rehabilitation as services are restarted.

Kenryck Lloyd-Jones, CSP Public Affairs and Policy Manager for Scotland, described the reports as “deeply concerning”.

He said: “It seems that not only are physiotherapy and rehabilitation services being slow to restart, they are being moved without relocation plans, downgraded or undervalued.

“We recognise the challenges in health settings and the need to re-organise, but it is essential that rehabilitation services are prioritised.

“Changes require proper consultation, risk assessment and planning. It is critical that the rehabilitation needs of people are not forgotten.”

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