Over 3,000 applications for physio registration

It is estimated there are over 4,000 physiotherapists working in Ireland. CORU’s CEO Ms Ginny Hanrahan has previously warned of serious employment consequences faced by physiotherapists if they fail to apply for registration by 30 September.

Speaking to <strong><em>MI</em></strong> in May, Ms Hanrahan said: “My main concern is to get physiotherapists to apply to the register; there are serious consequences if they don’t. If you haven’t applied for registration as a physiotherapist, from 1 October, your employer can send you home, as you are not allowed to use the newly-protected title, which would be ‘physiotherapist’.

“So really, existing practitioners need to have applied, and while the process is going through, they continue to work as physiotherapists; that is not a problem. People who are working for the first time have to be on the register before they can start work, so this is a big change for this profession.”

A two-year ‘grandparenting’ period opened in September 2016 for physiotherapists to apply to the register. However, the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (ISCP), which fully supports statutory registration, initially advised members not to register until there was complete assurance that the title of ‘physical therapist’ would be protected.  This was guaranteed by a legislative amendment that commenced in December.

Since then, the Society has been actively encouraging members to register as soon as possible.