I AM extremely concerned about the very high levels of unemployment facing newly qualified physiotherapists. At the Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre, we have seen a 50-per cent increase in referrals in the past 12 months, including cases of patients who have been told they face a 12-month wait to see a physiotherapist on the NHS.

The incidence of musculo-skeletal injury is on the increase, with thousands of people sitting to work at PCs much of their day and any delay in treatment can easily lead to conditions becoming chronic and, worse still, recurrent. This results in the patient requiring far more physiotherapy sessions once they receive treatment, thus costing more money and time. Chronic conditions require far more physiotherapy sessions, hence increased waiting times produce false economy. The impact on industry, not to mention incapacity benefit claims, is costing our country vast sums while the person at the end is suffering pain.

However, some patients choose not to wait, and in this way private practice is saving the NHS a great deal of money. But what of those who cannot afford private healthcare? It is an economic nonsense to have junior physiotherapists unemployed while 28,000 patients wait up to 12 months, with acute conditions that become chronic, and therefore costly to an NHS with limited resources.

The Health Minister, Andy Kerr, said on Wednesday that we need more seniors not juniors. How are we to get our seniors of the future if not by developing the juniors of today? Far better to invest in posts to allow the juniors to treat early those on waiting lists. This would release seniors to devote more time to their specialist workload, also addressing the present shortage of senior clinicians.

Kirsten Lord, Managing Director, Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre, 36 Henderson Row, Edinburgh.