Nearly half of NHS trusts in England have no earmarked funding to cover staff on maternity leave, a freedom-of-information analysis by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has found, with physiotherapy services facing sharper gaps than nursing.
The CSP sent freedom-of-information requests to trusts across England. It found that 49% had neither a dedicated budget nor a policy allowing overspending to pay for maternity cover. The absence of both mechanisms leaves trusts without a formal financial route to replace staff who take maternity leave. The findings raise fresh concerns about pressure on physiotherapy services.
Physiotherapy less likely to be covered
Where funding does exist, the analysis indicates that physiotherapy is treated less favorably than other areas of healthcare. More than one in five trusts (22%) said their maternity cover arrangements did not extend to physiotherapy staff, compared with 9% for nursing posts.
The CSP said failing to plan for maternity leave risked leaving overstretched teams to carry the same workload with fewer people, meaning patients waiting longer for treatment and rehabilitation. The findings are especially stark because women make up about 79% of the NHS physiotherapy workforce.
Ash James, the CSP’s director of practice and development, said the disparity between physiotherapy and nursing was deeply concerning. “When a physiotherapist goes on maternity leave, the patients needing treatment don’t disappear,” he said. Without cover, already stretched colleagues are left to absorb the workload, potentially delaying the rehabilitation patients need.
James linked the problem to recruitment freezes, disappearing posts and growing demand for care. He said it was another example of physiotherapy services being stretched beyond capacity. Trusts must ensure maternity cover arrangements are available fairly across clinical professions, he added, while the government must urgently lift recruitment freezes and invest in the physiotherapy workforce.
Rehabilitation space under pressure
Earlier research has suggested that stroke patients and others requiring intensive physiotherapy are receiving poorer care because hospitals lack adequate space and equipment. That research found four out of 10 NHS physiotherapy staff had lost or expected to lose dedicated rehabilitation space.
In a survey of more than 2,000 CSP members, six out of 10 said their rooms had been taken over by other clinical teams. Some blamed a lack of funding; others pointed to managers who did not prioritize their work.
The CSP is calling for equal access to maternity cover funding across NHS professions, as well as urgent action on recruitment freezes and staff shortages in physiotherapy.
Patients face longer waits
Alastair Henderson, chair of the Patients’ Association, said gaps in cover have direct consequences for patients. “When services are already stretched, losing staff without adequate replacement can mean longer waits for treatment and rehabilitation, less access to specialist expertise and greater pressure on remaining teams,” he said.
Henderson said patients should not have to wait longer or miss out on care because the NHS has failed to plan for, or cannot afford to cover, predictable staff absences.