Choosing a Physiotherapist in Tyne and Wear

Anyone can call themselves a therapist. Only someone on the HCPC register can legally call themselves a physiotherapist. That one fact is the most useful check you have, and it takes about a minute.

Start with HCPC registration

"Physiotherapist" is a protected title in the UK. To use it, a person must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. That means an approved qualification, meeting professional standards, and answering to a regulator if something goes wrong.

You can search the HCPC register for free on their website. A physiotherapist should give you their registration number straight away, and it should be on their website and paperwork. If someone is vague about it, that tells you what you need to know.

What does MCSP mean?

MCSP after a name means the person is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the professional body. It is not a legal must in the way HCPC registration is, but it shows they keep up with the profession and carry proper insurance.

Both together — HCPC registered and chartered — is the standard worth looking for.

Watch for titles that are not protected

"Sports therapist", "rehabilitation therapist", "movement specialist" and similar titles are not protected. Some people using them are well trained. But none of them comes with the same regulator behind it. If that matters to you, check for HCPC by name.

Match the experience to your problem

Physiotherapy is broad. Someone who spends their week on sports injuries is not always the right person for an 85-year-old who has had two falls, and the other way round is just as true. Ask what they actually treat day to day.

Worth matching on:

• Falls and unsteadiness — ask whether they measure strength and balance, and whether they look at the house as well as the person
• Getting back on your feet after hospital — ask how much of their work is with older people after illness, not just after injury
• Stroke or a neurological condition — ask how much neurological rehabilitation they have done
• After a joint replacement or a fracture — ask whether they follow the hospital's plan and build on it
• Back or joint pain — ask how they mix hands-on treatment with exercise

What should I ask on the phone?

• Are you HCPC registered, and what is your number?
• How much experience do you have with my problem?
• How long is the first visit, and what does it cost?
• Do you cover my postcode, and is there a travel fee?
• Roughly how many visits do you think I will need?
• How will we know if it is working?
• Will I get exercises to do between visits?
• Are you insured for home visits?

A good physiotherapist will answer all of these happily, and will tell you if they are not the right person for the job.

Clinic or home visit?

A clinic makes sense if you drive, the problem is not affecting how you get about, and you want gym equipment. A home visit makes sense if travelling is hard or painful, you are not driving, the problem is about managing your own house, or you care for someone and cannot get away.

There is a practical point about time too. A clinic slot is often twenty or thirty minutes. A home visit is usually a full session with nobody waiting behind you.

What do home visits cost in Tyne and Wear?

Home visits cost more than a clinic appointment, because the physiotherapist travels to you and sees fewer people in a day. For that you get a full session, no travel or parking of your own, and treatment built around the place you actually live.

Ask for the total cost up front, including any travel fee. Steve's prices are published in full.

Home physiotherapy across Tyne and Wear

Home visits are available across North Shields, Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, Newcastle, Gateshead, South Shields, Sunderland and across Tyne and Wear.

About Steve McLaren

Steve McLaren is a chartered physiotherapist (MCSP, HCPC PH52681) providing home visit physiotherapy across North Shields, Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, Newcastle, Gateshead, South Shields, Sunderland and across Tyne and Wear. He qualified in 1997 and has spent more than 20 years in community rehabilitation, treating people in their own homes. He works in the NHS in Newcastle, in a rapid response team that treats frail older people at home and in the emergency department, and his particular interest is falls prevention. He lives in North Shields.

Read Steve's profile or call 07788 974385.

Please mention Mobile Physiotherapist.co.uk when you call.