In this article, we digest the cost of physio appointments so clients may get to grips with the potential impact missing assignment slots have on the ability of an NHS system to function well. This also affects the private sector, but fewer Did Not Arrive (DNA) or missed appointments happen due to the self-investment nature of ‘private’ funded care.
We have tried to keep this relevant to the source. Still, some figures are assumed from private cost extrapolations and salary data so some statistics may be slightly lower but also higher depending on the date and location within the country.
The cost of a physio on the NHS is often the same as the Cost of physiotherapy in the private sector. The cost of training and pensions the NHS has, on top of typical costs, are presented as a profit to the private sector. This small profit margin is typically evenly split between the site and the practitioner. See some of our thought costs below:
Pre-employment costs in NHS Physiotherapy:
The NHS try to fund university student programs and will often pay the university fees for a three-year undergraduate program for a particular student.
As you can imagine, this may be as much as £32,000 per student before the NHS has any value.
Even if you may see a new post-grad physiotherapist, The NHS must pay a salary National Insurance and pension contributions at the minimum wage to this physiotherapist while also paying back this training deficit!
So what's an Average Physio pay on the NHS?
The average salary for a physio on the NHS according to https://www.prospects.ac.uk/.
- Starting salaries for qualified physiotherapists (Band 5) range from £24,907 to £30,615.
- Senior physiotherapists (Band 6) earn between £31,365 and £37,890.
- As a clinical specialist/team leader, you can earn between £38,890 and £44,503.
- Salaries for advanced practice (Band 7), extended scope, or clinical lead physiotherapists are around £45,753 to £51,668 (Band 8a),
- Consultant physiotherapist (Band 8b) roles rise to between £53,168 and £62,001.
Once you know the cost of salaries, we will need to determine how many days they might work a year and how many treatments I can do in the day.
A very efficient physiotherapist sees 16 clients daily for 80 patients per week. However, this 80 number may be too high.
This excessiveness would be due to management, training, shift introductions and shift sign-offs or have to be considered. This number would likely be about 10-20% lower, which means about 64 patients per week is a more likely number than the MAX!
Suppose we consider the starting salary of £30,000 and divide it by 47 working weeks a year (accommodating four weeks of holiday and a week of bank holidays/ national holidays). This calculator is about £638, which works out to about £10 for treatment.
Is this £10 cost an actual cost? No!
This £10 cost is just the salary cost! We also have to factor in the price of national insurance (NI) for the employer; in this case, the NHS, we also need to factor in energy costs - which always go up and up.
All these factors mean that you look at as much as 15 to 18 pounds per treatment without factoring in the repayment of training costs. This could mean as much as double, taking the cost of treatment to around £30.
This calculation also doesn't include or accommodate sicknesses or future training costs, which will constantly be ongoing as equipment Investment management costs of that individual.
Please remember that these costs are based on the lowest-paid physiotherapy in the NHS bandings (band 5). Hence, the low price above will only be for a year or two, after which the physiotherapist costs will elevate as they progress to the following bands. As salaries/inflation elevate, expect this to be higher.
“You may presume that consultant physiotherapy costs the NHS £60 - 70 per session.”
These essential private fees may seem high to some, but when you compare them to NHS costs, they are similar and often, you may get a quicker and more complete approach than the NHS can offer at this point.
Then there are the ‘caged-care’ or ‘algorithm’ factors. These factors are where institutes such as NICE, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and management of primary care trusts may restrict duties or specific physical therapy interventions to limit and provide much-needed efficiencies within the system A.K.A. “RED-TAPE”.
While these cost savings are essential to keep our National Health Service (NHS) running, they often mean that more complicated cases that may not fit into algorithmic care cannot get addressed as quickly as they could in private care.
This inevitably means that some clients may become chronic and be harder to treat if the system misses. This is the reasoning behind many needing private care. Please call our clinic if you feel your specific case has been overlooked or requires quicker care to stop yourself from entering Chronicity.