MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has backed a charity’s calls for more widespread access to physiotherapy for those with muscle-wasting conditions.
He’s supporting a campaign by Muscular Dystrophy UK, which says because of the way the NHS works around 70,000 people are missing out on vital care.
The deficiency has been highlighted in a new report by the charity, launched at a meeting of MPs and peers last week.
It found nearly two-thirds of those with muscle-wasting conditions are unable to access appropriate physiotherapy for their condition and that as a result, one in five are being forced to pay up to £6,000 a year for private treatment.
The blame is being laid at the door of NHS policy which rations physiotherapy to six-week blocks, meaning people with muscle-wasting conditions that do gain access miss out on long-term benefits, and gain little from the treatment at all.
Yet for people with such conditions, physiotherapy can reduce pain and discomfort, keep patients walking for longer, and even reduce the risk of chest infections which can tragically cut lives short.
Mr Liddell-Grainger, Conservative member for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said NHS trusts needed to provide access to physiotherapy services as and when it was needed and to ensure specialist physiotherapists were available locally to support those with muscle-wasting conditions.
He said it had been deeply concerning to hear from such people about the difficulties they were facing in accessing physiotherapy.
“They are desperately in need of better access to ongoing physiotherapy that could make all the difference to their health, and I am delighted to support all efforts to achieve that,” he said.