Pursuant to section 11(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, the Physiotherapy Board amends the Scope of Practice – Physiotherapist in the notice with the above heading published in the Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette, 15 September 2004, No. 120, at page 2972.
This notice takes effect from 1 January 2009.
Please remove the Scope of Practice – Physiotherapist and replace it with:
“1. Scope of Practice – Physiotherapist
Physiotherapy provides services to individuals and populations to develop, maintain, restore and optimise health and function throughout the lifespan.
This includes providing services to people compromised by ageing, injury, disease or environmental factors.
Physiotherapy identifies and maximises quality of life and movement potential by using the principles of promotion, prevention, treatment/intervention, habilitation and rehabilitation.
This encompasses physical, psychological, emotional and social well-being.
Physiotherapy involves the interaction between physiotherapists, patients/clients, other health professionals, families/whanau, care givers and communities.
This is a people-centred process where needs are assessed and goals are agreed using the knowledge and skills of physiotherapists.
Physiotherapists are registered health practitioners who are educated to practise autonomously by applying scientific knowledge and clinical reasoning to assess, diagnose and manage human function.
The practice of physiotherapy is not confined to clinical practice, and encompasses all roles that a physiotherapist may assume such as patient/client care, health management, research, policy making, educating and consulting, wherever there may be an issue of public health and safety.”
Dated at Wellington this 8th day of December 2008.
SUSAN J. BEGGS, Registrar, Physiotherapy Board.