The University of Hull has launched a new physiotherapy degree to help reverse a crisis within the health sector as it faces a national shortfall of 4,000 of the medical specialists.
Recent figures from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists show thousands of people are needed to maintain key rehabilitation services in hospitals, medical centres and private practices across the country.
The new three-year BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy programme at the University of Hull will start recruiting students from September to begin in the 2020 academic year; subject to professional body approval.
The new course aims to create a cohort of highly skilled practitioners to meet a shortfall in Hull, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The University of Hull has developed the course through close partnerships with local healthcare providers and service users as well as the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as the statutory regulator for Physiotherapy and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists – the professional body.
Julie Jomeen, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Hull, said: “Our BSc Physiotherapy course meets a critical shortage of physiotherapists by training students to be highly-skilled and innovative practitioners.
“The University’s Faculty of Health Sciences has listened to the needs of local healthcare providers in the region and has taken action to improve the health of our local people and beyond – a mission which deeply motivates us here at Hull.”
Dr Clare Killingback, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Hull, regards future proofing physiotherapy as extremely important:
“It has been an inspiring journey, working closely with our public and private sector partners to deliver a programme which ensures our region is a hotbed of highly-skilled, forward-thinking physiotherapists who are motivated by the needs of their patients.