Trafford Integrated Community Musculoskeletal (MSK) Service

The Trafford Integrated Community MSK Service will treat patients with a range of MSK conditions including their feet; serving as an alternative to hospital treatment for the majority of patients. Patients will be referred to secondary care only when there is a need for such services.

Aims of the service: • Provide a comprehensive service offering patient choice, improvement in quality of life and individual client centred treatment • Flexible and responsive service • Maximise integration delivering excellent patient experience, avoid duplication and achieve good clinical outcomes • Reduce waiting times • Increase access • Provide value for money • Reduce GP referrals to outpatients in orthopaedics, rheumatology and pain management

Key objectives:

• Ensure that patients: o can be managed within the capacity and capability of one integrated service o are supported to self-manage o receive access to high quality interventions

• Stakeholders are satisfied with the service and kept well informed and involved in their care • Increase conversion rates from outpatient attendances to surgery • Achieve reduction of orthopaedic, rheumatology and pain management referrals to acute hospitals • Enable GPs to use the service as alternative to Secondary Care • Work with GPs to increase their knowledge and confidence of diagnosis and management of MSK conditions and improve outcomes for patients

Key stages of the MSK service: • Seamless care pathways • Shared Decision Making • Prevention, support for self-care and advice to patients, carers and professionals • Physioline • Clinical assessment including screening for serious conditions and pathology indicators • Treatment including medicines management • Shared management with the patient’s GP • Management and prevention of MSK complex/chronic pain • Onward referral as appropriate for surgical interventions

The contract has a set of health outcomes and improvements built in as deliverables, including: • Increase the percentage of patients, completing treatment, reporting high levels of patient satisfaction • High number of patients reporting they feel confident to self-manage their condition • Provision of patient, carer and referrer education • Reduce waiting times for patients with MSK conditions • Transfer activity from an acute setting to the community • Improve the clinical pathway by developing joint working between primary and secondary care providers • Increase the management of patients in primary care without the need for referral • Reduce health inequalities by improving access • Seek and act on the views of patients in planning change to the service • Minimise the number of patients presenting at GP Practices with MSK Chronic Pain • Provide services convenient to the needs of patients • Improve patient experience • Demonstrate increasing conversion rates for surgery (for referrals from the service to secondary care)