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Patients to refer themselves for NHS treatment

  • Last modified date:
    21 October 2008

More people will have the freedom to self-refer for services such as physiotherapy and podiatry, which will further empower patients and cut waiting times.

While some Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) already take on self-referrals, many do not and today's announcement from Health Secretary, Alan Johnson will give the green light across the profession.

As part of a package of improvements to AHP services, the Health Secretary also announced the intention to collect new data on these areas to support the improvement of services.

The Department will also introduce quality measures, which will lead to improvements in the overall standard of these services for patients and the public.

Recent research carried out by the Department of Health in partnership with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) showed that self-referral to musculoskeletal physiotherapy resulted in patients:

  • accessing services quicker
  • being more likely to complete their course of treatment and turn up for follow up appointments.

The research also showed that self-referral resulted in a lower level of work absence for patients and a high level of satisfaction from patients, GPs and physiotherapists.

Alan Johnson said:

‘I am giving the green light to physiotherapists, podiatrists and all Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) that they can accept patients who
self refer.'

Services provided by Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) play a vital part in building a society that's fair and inclusive.’

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