PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICE

12.00.00am GMT Tue 18th Feb 2003

Dr Jenny Tonge, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park has written to the Richmond and Twickenham Primary Care Trust to ask why there are such long waiting times for referral to a physiotherapist.

Dr Tonge, who suffers from a long-standing back problem, had been referred for physiotherapy by her GP.

She was astonished to receive a letter from the PCT telling her there would be a ten-week wait before she was even contacted to be offered an appointment.

Dr Tonge said: "I really thought I ought to draw attention to the disgraceful situation regarding physiotherapy in this part of London."

"It's not so much for myself – my back managed to survive several hours of the Peace March last Saturday – but what about people who really are in severe pain?"

"To expect people to wait this long for an appointment is outrageous.

I worked for the NHS for over thirty years before becoming an MP and I'm not going to abandon it now, but many people will give up and "go private" faced with wating times like these. My constituents on low incomes don't have that choice."