Ms Deirdre Walsh:

I suppose the issue was exactly the point Deputy Donnelly is making. That is where we started off. The public was confused. People did not realise whether they were going to a physiotherapist or physical therapist. What we know as a chartered physiotherapist is known as a physical therapist internationally so there was confusion.

Deputy Donnelly is correct. Now on the Physiotherapists Registration Board we have physiotherapists who are qualified in three streams, namely, cardio-respiratory, neurological and musculoskeletal. A limited number of registrants are on the same register with an interchangeable title and who only practise in the field of musculoskeletal therapy. They practise in one stream and the others practise in three streams. There is a once-off provision to ensure there is no risk to the public. No more physical therapists of the one-stream category will be registered. To protect the public, those physical therapists with a one-stream musculoskeletal practice have signed up to a code of conduct and ethics. This means they can only practise within their level of education and training, which is musculoskeletal. If they stray outside that area, they are brought to fitness to practise. That is the protection in place.