Physiotherapist shortage impacting 'quality of life' with 83,000 on waiting lists

Physiotherapists in the HSE are reporting feeling pressures 'worse than covid', according to a survey of physiotherapy managers. Picture:iStock

A teenager unable to do elite-level sport for a year and medicating with antidepressants to cope is just one example of what is happening to more than 83,000 people waiting for physiotherapy, a leading practitioner has warned.

Data published in the Irish Examiner last week showed public waiting lists for physiotherapy — as with seven other therapies — spiralled between 2019 and 2024.