SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 12th March (EUROPA PRESS) –
This Tuesday afternoon, physiotherapists gathered in front of the doors of the Parliament of the Canary Islands to express their opposition to the ‘sports prescription’ model promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands, which excludes them.
“In the interest of patient safety, we persist in demanding the inclusion of physiotherapy professionals in sports prescription. We are the competent health experts in this field. So far, we have made little headway with the Government of the Canary Islands. It seems they only seek our input for preparing activity prescription guidelines,” stated Santiago Sánchez, president of the College of Physiotherapists of the Canary Islands.
Addressing a hundred demonstrators, Sánchez highlighted that the agreement between the Ministries of Education and Health was crafted “without any consideration for physiotherapists and without acknowledging that therapeutic prescription for treating conditions should be the remit of healthcare professionals, as is the practice in other European nations”.
He added, “It is only when exercise is devoid of therapeutic intent that it may be recommended to sports professionals, as dictated by common sense and Spanish legislation.”
The catalyst for escalating their opposition and activism against sports prescription is the “responsibility to alert the public to the risks of implementing this measure without the presence of physiotherapists and healthcare professionals possessing the necessary expertise.”
During this protest, the COFC also sought to bring attention to other long-standing grievances of their profession, “issues that are interconnected and could contribute to addressing the challenges within the current healthcare system.”
Specifically, they highlighted concerns about “extensive waiting lists – not exclusively for rehabilitation -, the absence of preventive and health promotion initiatives, insufficient and outdated infrastructure and resources, inadequate staffing levels, and the underutilization of existing resources – many SCS physiotherapy services remain unoccupied in the afternoons -“.
STAFFING BOOST
Consequently, physiotherapists in the Canary Islands are urging for the commitments outlined in the motion 9L/PNL-0682, signed by all parliamentary factions, regarding the enhancement of Physiotherapy provisions in the Canarian Health Service to be honoured: augmentation of physiotherapists within the SCS, enhanced oversight of rehabilitation agreements, modernization of the role of physiotherapists within the SCS, direct referrals to physiotherapy from any medical specialism, adherence to the stipulated patient-to-hour ratios of three, or activating healthcare mandates in the pursuit and combat against intrusion.
This demonstration was jointly orchestrated with physiotherapists from the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, who find themselves in a similar predicament.
Furthermore, they have declared that, if an accord guaranteeing patient safety is not reached, they will continue their mobilization efforts.
Approximately twenty professional bodies, health institutions, and unions have endorsed the statement in solidarity with physiotherapists.
