Book physiotherapy after work, or on a Saturday afternoon
Weekday appointments run until 20:00, and Saturday afternoons are open from 14:00. No GP referral and no waiting list.
When the clinic is open
Same physiotherapist, same room, whichever slot you take. An evening appointment is not a reduced version of a daytime one.
- Monday
- 10:00 to 20:00
- Tuesday
- 10:00 to 20:00
- Wednesday
- 10:00 to 20:00
- Thursday
- 10:00 to 20:00
- Friday
- 10:00 to 20:00
- Saturday
- 14:00 to 20:00
The last weekday appointments start early enough to finish by 20:00, so a slot after a normal working day is a real option rather than a theoretical one. Saturday afternoons run on the same basis.
Most physiotherapy is only available when you are at work
Clinic hours across Bournemouth tend to stop somewhere between five and six. If you work a normal day, that leaves you choosing between taking annual leave, asking for a long lunch, or putting the whole thing off until the shoulder gets bad enough to force the issue.
Putting treatment off is the easy option when the alternatives all cost a chunk of the working day.
Opening to 20:00 and on Saturday afternoons removes the choice. You come after work, or at the weekend, and treatment stops competing with your job.
Who evening and Saturday slots suit
People with jobs that do not bend
Teachers, nurses on shift, drivers, trades on site, retail and hospitality staff, and office workers who would rather not explain a fortnightly two-hour gap in the diary. A 6pm or 7pm slot costs you an evening instead of a morning of annual leave.
Runners and gym-goers
Training tends to happen at the same time physiotherapy normally does, which makes the two awkward to fit around each other. Evening and Saturday slots sit either side of most training weeks.
People relying on a lift
After an operation, or with a back that makes driving unpleasant, getting to a clinic often depends on somebody else being free. If that somebody works, a Saturday afternoon or a 7pm weekday slot is the difference between attending regularly and cancelling every other appointment.
Seen this week, rather than after Christmas
Routine NHS physiotherapy waits in Dorset are currently measured in months and vary by provider and clinical priority. For anything urgent the NHS remains the right route, and that is not in question. For an ordinary back, knee or shoulder problem, though, that is a long time to keep doing less.
The cost of that wait is not only discomfort. Months of avoiding a movement builds a habit of avoiding it. Strength drops, the area gets less tolerant of load, and a problem that would have taken a short course of treatment early on becomes a longer piece of work if it is left.
Here, an appointment is usually available within days. If the assessment turns up something that belongs with a GP or a consultant, you will be told that plainly.
What you can do while waiting for NHS physiotherapy in Dorset
Three things people ask
Do I need a GP referral?
No. Physiotherapy is a self-referral profession, so you can book privately without seeing a GP first and without a diagnosis or a scan. Appointments are self-pay.
Can I stay on the NHS waiting list as well?
Yes. Booking privately does not remove you from an NHS waiting list, and plenty of people use a few private appointments to get moving while they wait. If your problem has resolved by the time the NHS appointment comes round, you can let them know and free the slot for someone else.
Are evening appointments shorter or busier?
No. Evening and Saturday appointments run to the same length as daytime ones, with the same physiotherapist in the same room. The clinic is single-handed, so there is no rota and no difference in who you see depending on the hour.
Book an evening or Saturday appointment
Weekdays to 20:00, Saturdays 14:00 to 20:00. Shop 2, 4-6 Roumelia Ln, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH5 1EU, a few minutes from Southbourne and Pokesdown and a short drive from Christchurch.
Call Deborah WhatsApp Contact the clinic Call, text or WhatsApp 07305 447682