Off to school for a spot of physio

Physiotherapists are working full time at secondary schools treating sporting injuries - and ACC, which is funding the practice, knows nothing about it.

However ACC said that while it was not aware of the practice, it applauded the move, despite obvious questions about students receiving physiotherapy services for minor knocks which would normally go untreated.

North Shore-based Physio Action is one clinic providing physiotherapy services to students. It has established clinics at Westlake Boys', Kelston Boys' and St Kentigern colleges.

Injured students are treated at school, saving them a trip to an outside clinic.

They are given the relevant documentation to fill out and those forms are then sent to ACC so payment can be made to the physiotherapist.

Physiotherapists are defending the practice, saying providing on-site clinical services is designed to prevent further injury from knocks on the sports field.

Physio Action, owned by Richard Hoskin, runs the clinics during school terms, but staff are also on call for weekend sport matches and sometimes holidays.

With a fulltime physiotherapist on site, Kelston Boys' High School headmaster Steve Watt said students no longer spent time travelling outside school for treatment.

"With a boys' school like this, there's not just rugby injuries but a lot of physical activity," Mr Watt said.

ACC spends $34 million treating 47,000 rugby injuries each year.

Simon Gianotti, ACC sport and recreation programme manager, told the Herald on Sunday he was unaware that physiotherapists were working for schools - but said it was a "a fantastic idea".

"Certainly innovative, but not illegal. It's taking a service to the school, rather than patients waiting for days when it could be treated immediately," he said.

The only potential issue would be if students were being treated unnecessarily to massage the number of claim forms, he said.

However, he doubted that was happening.

"Most physios I know do a damn fine job. Most would take 30 seconds to look at a bruise and tell the student not to be a wuss."

New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists president Kirsten Davie also applauded the move.

"It sounds like a very innovative idea and would prevent further injuries to students which is fantastic."

Five sessions is the average number of physio treatments covered by ACC and Ms Davie said few physiotherapists treated patients more than they should.

"We're bound by a code of ethics. If someone makes a complaint for over-treatment we have to stand before our peers and explain ourselves."

Graham Young, president of the Secondary Principal's Association of New Zealand, said mutual agreements between schools and the medical profession were becoming more common.

Many schools had doctors or nurses on a part-time basis and Mr Young's Tauranga Boys' College had considered getting a physiotherapist on-site.

"I'm not surprised this is happening, we've skirted around the idea before. These arrangements are more common than 10 or 15 years ago."

An ACC spokesman said it would not release commercially sensitive information regarding the number of Physio Action claims.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY