The Impact of COVID-19 on Physiotherapy Services

 by Elinor Jeynes

The coronavirus has affected everyone in some way or another over the last year and it can be argued that it has affected the healthcare industry to the greatest extent. The physiotherapy workforce have played a key role in helping to deal with the challenges of the coronavirus but they have been adversely affected by the pandemic.

When the first phase of the pandemic started the majority of physiotherapy and rehabilitation services were paused and have remained so. In a survey by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy done in the September of 2020 of the 4000 responses only 15% reported that the services they usually  offer were running at normal capacity. As more restrictions are being lifted this is obviously changing however, due to the fact that limited physiotherapy services have taken place, those who were suffering with long term conditions prior to the coronavirus have deteriorated over lockdown due to the fact that they were unable to receive treatment. This then means that there is now a significant backlog of people requiring treatment that physiotherapists need to help. Due to this physiotherapists are having to look after their previous patients from before COVID-19 as well as new patients who are requiring treatment. This puts an even greater strain on the NHS as this is happening in many different sections of the NHS not just physio as they try to help with the patients they were unable to help over lockdown. The coronavirus has meant that those who received physiotherapy often have not been able to access it and so their conditions have worsened.

Physiotherapy has also been impacted due to the new rehabilitation needs of people who are recovering from the symptoms of Long Covid. Most people who have suffered with the coronavirus have felt better within a week or so and most people make a complete recovery within 12 weeks. However some people have begun to suffer with long COVID, the symptoms of long COVID include extreme fatigue, chest and joint pain, heart palpitations and many others. As I mentioned that one of the symptoms of long COVID was joint pain this is often treated by physiotherapists. This means that on top of all of their other patients from before and after lockdown physiotherapists are also now helping with the rehabilitation needs of these people who are suffering with long COVID further adding to their workload.

Physiotherapists have also been affected by the coronavirus as they now need to wear Personal protective equipment. Similarly to all other health care professions physiotherapists are required to make sure they stick to guidelines on infection control. The changes to the way physiotherapy services are being delivered due to COVID will affect how physiotherapists are able to interact with patients and their families. PPE will make it harder for Physiotherapists to communicate with patients and form a good working relationship due to the fact that they are often fully covered when they have to wear a visor, mask and apron. For some patients PPE can appear intimidating and if they already struggled with a communication difficulty prior to COVID it is worsened by the fact that they cannot see their physiotherapist’s face. As well as this for people who are deaf or suffer with hearing loss it can be very hard for them to understand what someone is saying if they are wearing a mask as they are unable to lip read. When working in a healthcare environment it is essential that the patient is aware and is able to understand everything that is happening around them and the treatments they are receiving.

To summarise, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in some way or another and physiotherapists are no different. They are going to have to overcome multiple challenges as we hopefully progress nearer the end of the pandemic the main ones being wearing PPE and the communication difficulties that involves, helping patients suffering with long term COVID and trying to help the patients who’s conditions worsened as a result of lockdown.