Call for physio internships to be included in JobBridge

MINISTER FOR Health James Reilly has proposed extending the Government’s national intern scheme – JobBridge – to provide a placement scheme for newly qualified physiotherapists. He said he had held talks with Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton about such an initiative.

Under the Government’s JobBridge scheme, those provided with work placements for six or nine months receive their social welfare entitlements and an additional €50 allowance per week.

Dr Reilly said that when physiotherapists qualified “they have no experience working outside of their training and they really need another year either in a hospital or with a private practice”.

“I have been in talks with Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton about creating JobBridge for physios.”

He said his proposal would be like an intern year but it would not be paid at the same rate as young doctors receive during their intern period. “Give them the experience of the extra year and they could go work on their own,” he said.

“The community is crying out for physiotherapists and we are training them, at great cost, asking them to achieve 550 points in their Leaving Cert and then leaving them to work in McDonald’s or emigrate. It just does not make sense.”

The Minister said an initiative at St Mary’s orthopaedic hospital in Cork had shown that where referrals were screened by a physiotherapist, up to 40 per cent of patients did not need to see a surgeon but could be treated directly by the physiotherapist. “That could apply in general practice. If we had a situation where practice nurses are seeing patients and can suggest the physiotherapist first.”

However, he said this would mean having to have more physiotherapists in the community.