Pro Bono Chartered Physiotherapy Services Announced

The Physio Company is an Irish company that prides itself on being a fresh, innovative and forward thinking private Chartered Physiotherapy provider. It opened its first clinic in 2007 and since then has grown rapidly with 5 clinics now in Dublin.

The Physio Company, Ireland’s largest private Chartered Physiotherapy & Sports Injury provider will help reduce waiting lists and will give opportunities to unemployed new physiotherapy graduates DUBLIN, January 28, 2009 — The Physio Company today announced the launch of a major pro bono chartered physiotherapy service, designed to treat people who are in urgent need of physiotherapy but cannot afford to wait on a public waiting list or to pay for private services. The Physio Company is Ireland’s largest Private Chartered Physiotherapy & Sports Injury provider and all of the company’s physiotherapists have voluntarily opted into the programme. This announcement comes at a time when the country faces its biggest economic challenge since the 1950s, if not ever. This has led to the Government having to borrow over €55 million a day, at a time when unemployment and medical card holders are growing rapidly. “Whilst chartered physiotherapists in the HSE are doing an amazing job, they are working in an environment where patient numbers are increasing and budgets decreasing. Something has to give. We fully support the HSE’s primary care strategy but in the interim period, we expect waiting lists for physio (among other services) to continue to increase” said Stuart McGoldrick CEO of The Physio Company. “Patients with medical cards can be left waiting for physiotherapy for months and by the time they get to see a physiotherapist, their condition may have become chronic and much more complex. Unfortunately, this means that they will need more treatment, which in turn slows down the waiting list and so the cycle continues. We are prepared to lead, in partnership with GP’s, in helping to mitigate a problem area of the public health system exacerbated by a harsh economic environment.” The Physio Company will allocate 10% of its annual treatment time for pro bono work on a GP-led basis. “It is the patient’s GPs who know the patient’s medical condition and financial circumstances best and it will be ultimately their call if their patients warrant pro bono treatment” said Anne Coolen McGoldrick, Medical Director of The Physio Company. “We are relying on the GP community for this service to work to its occupancy, so I will be in contact with all Dublin based GP’s this week. What I can say is that from initial discussions, this is going to be warmly received.” Whilst the majority of pro bono physio service will be offered by the Company’s existing large team of experienced chartered physiotherapists, The Physio Company will introduce clinical opportunities to newly graduated chartered physiotherapists who have failed to find employment. This scheme will allow them to use the Company’s treatment rooms and facilities to treat pro bono patients in a structured and supervised environment. “After 4 years in university it is terrible to see some 50% of last year’s graduate chartered physiotherapists not working in their skilled profession. It is, therefore, incumbent on private practice to facilitate opportunities in private healthcare” said Anne Coolen McGoldrick. “In a structured and supervised clinical setting we will offer the opportunity for new graduates to incorporate and integrate their extensive academic knowledge into patient treatment. It is very important that new graduates are exposed early on to real clinical decision making, but with support during the process. This will certainly lead to long-term employment opportunities for them.” As part of this announcement, The Physio Company has announced that those medical card patients that cannot be seen pro bono or are not referred by a GP will still receive a 20% discount on all treatments. “We have fundamentally changed the way we approach our service in order to bring the full strength of our company to help those who really need it. We are a company that has, at the heart of its agenda, a role to provide an excellent health service. This means that with the same level of excellence, commitment and dedication that we approach our private patients, The Physio Company can look after medical card patients. All of our physios strongly support the provision of both free and heavily discounted services in today’s economic climate.” said Stuart McGoldrick, CEO of The Physio Company. The Physio Company has clinics in IFSC (Dublin 1), Temple Bar (Dublin 2), Raheny (Dublin 5), Ranelagh (Dublin 6) and Newlands Cross (Dublin 22). Drumcondra Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic which is a sister clinic to The Physio Company, has also joined up to this initiative. According to Stuart McGoldrick the Company will grow outside of Dublin this year. “We are in a growth stage at the moment and we have another few clinics planned for launch this year in Dublin and one or two in key regional cities. Our medical card programme will of course be replicated in every clinic that we open”. Contacts: Stuart McGoldrick Chief Executive The Physio Company Telephone:016799685 Mobile: 086 8123629 E: stuart@thephysiocompany.com Ann Coleen McGoldrick Medical Director The Physio Company & Drumcondra Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Telephone: 01 6799685 Mobile: 0863891102 E: anne@thephysiocompany.com