Numbers drop as female physiotherapists retire

Australia’s shortage of physiotherapists is predicted to worsen with the retirement of older, mostly female baby-boomer physiotherapists, according to a study published in The Australian Journal of Physiotherapy.

It says the shortage of physiotherapists will have serious consequences for Australia’s health and governments need to take urgent action.

Successive state and federal governments have not trained enough physiotherapists to meet the growing demand, or provided enough incentives for physiotherapists to continue to work in the health sector.

The loss of older physiotherapists from the profession will leave some health sectors, particularly the public and aged-care areas, critically understaffed.

The demographic study, by Deborah Schofield and Susan Fletcher, of the University of Sydney’s Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health, found that 41% of the 2001 physiotherapy workforce is predicted to retire by 2026.

More males are entering the physiotherapy profession, and are more likely to work in private practice, and as the proportion of men increases, the proportion of physiotherapists looking to work in the public sector is likely to decrease, the study’s authors conclude.

Older people are one of the least-favoured client age groups among physiotherapy students, the authors also noted.