The council that regulates physiotherapists has become a “skip” and is so weighed down by bureaucracy that it is keeping the profession from developing its skills, according to the association of physiotherapists.
“The Council for Professions Complementary to Medicine has become the skip for any health profession that needs to be regulated in Malta,” Malta Association of Physiotherapists CEO Maria-Louisa Busuttil told Times of Malta.
According to the association, while doctors, nurses and pharmacists have their own separate council, this council is responsible for too many professions, hampering the development and regulation of some of them.
If we stop updating ourselves we could become outdated as professionals
It oversees regulatory issues, such as codes of ethics, conduct and practice of 19 professions, including physiotherapists, podiatrists, dental hygienists and nutritionists. It also vets applications from foreign applicants, issues licences, and responds to public complaints, physiotherapists’ association president Matthew Azzopardi explained.
Physiotherapy is not complementary to medicine and, like occupational and speech therapy, is an autonomous profession, according to Mr Azzopardi.
Apart from having different levels of education, the 19 professions within the council were quite distinct: while physiotherapists diagnosed, assessed and treated through direct patient contact, there were other professions which are required to work under supervision.
But one of the main headaches is that the council does not impose a minimum requirement of continuous development.
“Continuous professional development, known as CPD, is our oxygen. If we stop updating ourselves for just three years, we could become outdated as professionals,” Ms Busuttil said.
In 2011, a steering committee which includes the physiotherapists’ association presented three proposals to the council.
These include splitting the council and having a separate one for autonomous professions which need CPD and have the same level of education.
Three years on, however, they have not received feedback from the council.
“The primary objective of regulation is basically patient safety, health and quality. For the patient to have the best quality service, they have to have best quality professionals,” Mr Azzopardi said.
When contacted, the councilsaid meetings and discussions with the health professionals were still ongoing, and it was up to the associations to encourage continuous development.