Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to retain physiotherapists who have entered NHS employment temporarily during the covid-19 outbreak.

In total, 3,754 physiotherapists have joined the Health and Care Professions Council’s COVID-19 temporary register.

A recent survey of returners indicated that around 50% across all professions were interested in continuing to work in the health and social care system.

There are existing return to practice schemes designed to support physiotherapists who have been out of the workforce for a number of years to safely re-start their careers.

NHS England is working with the Department and other local employing organisations to consider a range of flexible options to make it easier for professionals including physiotherapists who are interested in re-joining the National Health Service workforce to do so.