Ulster University physiotherapy training places being cut

Training places at Ulster University for degree courses in physiotherapy and other health specialities are to be cut, BBC News NI understands.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in NI said it was expecting training places to be reduced after a budget briefing from the Department of Health.

The society expressed extreme concern, saying more than 12% of physiotherapy positions are currently vacant.

The Department of Health said the move is part of its attempts to save money.

In a statement, the department said it was making decisions on spending reductions with "great regret".

It added that it is in the impossible position of "having to fulfil conflicting responsibilities".

The department said it was "living within the budget, acting in the public interest and safeguarding services".

Civil servants have been tasked with running Stormont departments and managing public services in the absence of a devolved government, but they must stick to the budget published last month by Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris.

The Department of Health received the biggest allocation, but its budget of £7.25bn was similar to the amount it got last year.

That has been viewed as a difficult settlement because of the high rate of inflation and outstanding pay disputes involving nurses and other health workers.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in Northern Ireland said: "The current political hiatus has created an intolerable situation for public services here and will add to the significant pressures already facing the health and social care system."

It added that although it did not yet have exact figures, it was "extremely concerned" by the anticipated cuts to number of physiotherapy undergraduate training places at Ulster University (UU).

"The health and social care service in Northern Ireland already has record numbers of workforce vacancies," the society said.

"Last year saw approximately 900 applications for roughly 100 training places for the physiotherapy course in [UU] Magee."

On Monday, the BBC revealed that the number of nursing training places is to be cut in September from 1,325 to 1,025.

The Royal College of Nursing's Northern Ireland director, Rita Devlin, described the move as an "act of destruction".

The department said it recognised the importance of staffing and was committed to 1,025 new nursing places.

This was the level in place before the New Decade, New Approach deal, which included provision for an extra 300 nurse training places each year to address staff shortages and concerns over safety.

But Ms Devlin said the news of cuts had left members "bewildered" with almost 3,000 vacant nursing posts in Northern Ireland.

"It is unimaginable that the Department of Health has been put in the position of having to cut the number of student nursing places for 2023-2024 because of the political and financial crisis in Northern Ireland," she explained.