January, 1956 P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y Page Three

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Editorial ............................................................................................................................................ ... Page 3
0

Applications and Advantages o f Stable Galvanism ..................................................................... Page 4

Observations on Neuromuscular Dysfunction in the Addington Outbreak ............................ ... Page 7

General..............................................................................  ..................................................................... Page 8

Sports—A Revelation to the Paraplegic .............................................................................................. Page 10

Personal ............................................................................................................................................ ... Page 13

Branch News ............................................................................................................................................ ... Page 13

Review of Some Ultrasonic Treatments at Johannesburg General Hospital ................ ... Page 14

In Defence o f Physiotherapy ....................................................................................................... ... Page 15

Book Review. ................................................................................................................................................ Page 15

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EDITORIAL

THE shortage of staff in Provincial Hospitals is becoming more and more alarming and 
its repercussions increasingly apparent.

) Those suffering most are of course the patients. 
New and improved methods and ideas of treat­
ment are constantly being evolved, yet the patients 
are often prevented from benefiting fully because 
the physiotherapist simply has insufficient time to 
give the best of her knowledge and skill.

This scandalous state of affairs is in part un­
avoidable in that the demand for physiotherapy 
increases daily as the medical profession becomes 
aware of its value, and there are not enough 
people being trained to supply the public’s needs.

However, a great number of physiotherapists 
who would prefer to work in Hospitals for various 
reasons are economically prevented from doing 
so because of the low salaries offered. There must 
be those who would be prepared to do part-time 
work, particularly during a period of crisis such 
as is being experienced on the Rand at present

over the incidence of polio, but the days are 
passed when financial recompense could be 
discounted as unimportant.

Furthermore this staff shortage reflects on the 
reputation of physiotherapy itself. The only way 
to demonstrate its place in the medical field is by 
example and results. Unless the staff have time 
to treat cases comprehensively these results will 
not be of maximum value. Failure is often more 
impressive than success and destructive criticism 
over one particular case can damn the profession 
as a whole.

It is therefore only under ideal working con­
ditions, viz. enough staff, adequate apparatus and 
planned accommodation, that physiotherapy can 
show its true worth. Some of the present day 
problems seem insoluble, but certainly an increase 
in the Government and Provincial salary scales 
would go a long way towards staffing their insti­
tutions with keen and competent physiotherapists, 
thus providing the public with the services to which 
they are entitled and for which they pay.

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