GIRFT is getting started on a £3.5m programme of activity – funded by the Government’s Joint Work and Health Directorate – working with 17 integrated care systems (ICSs) with the highest waiting lists for elective community MSK services.
The focus is on reducing waiting times for a community MSK appointment; to improve access to MSK treatment and support people back to work.
The GIRFT MSK Community Delivery Programme will see each ICB receive funding and support to develop more efficient ways of getting MSK patients treated, off waiting lists and back onto the path of employment. The initiative is part of the Government’s Plan for Change and funded by the Joint Work and Health Directorate (a joint initiative of the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care).
GIRFT will support the 17 ICBs* involved to improve the quality and accessibility of MSK services; to strengthen NHS MSK infrastructure and improve performance; and to improve health and work outcomes for people with a MSK condition.
The programme is being delivered using the principles and methodology of GIRFT’s Further Faster 20 programme, which is working with systems and NHS trusts to go ‘further and faster’ in transforming patient pathways to reduce waiting times in areas of high economic inactivity.
MSK conditions affect over 20 million people in the UK (around one in three of the population) and up to 30% of GP consultations in England are for MSK complaints. Waiting lists for MSK community services stood at around 350,000 people in September 2024 (348,799) – the highest of all community service waiting lists.
“GIRFT has a proven record of spearheading improvements in care and this initiative could make a real difference to MSK patients and help them return to work. ICBs will be able to assess their current services and share examples of best practice to roll out innovative ways of working. The NHS will also improve data on how services are performing and the link between waits for care and employment status.”
To support the community MSK work, GIRFT has produced an operational handbook which provides checklists against which community MSK leads and ICSs can assess current practice and delivery of services. The handbook contains information on a range of resources and aligns with the principles and actions shared in NHS England’s Improvement Framework to reduce MSK waits whilst delivering best outcomes and experience.
The handbook signposts to resources that support practitioners to:
- Optimise referrals to community triage and therapies services.
- Ensure appropriate triage is in place to recognise urgent conditions requiring onward referral to secondary care.
- Deliver rehabilitation and self-management.
- Reduce number of ‘did not attend’ (DNA) incidences and implement patient- initiated follow-up (PIFU) appointments.
Seven GIRFT regional clinical advisors have also been appointed to support the ICSs, working with GIRFT clinical lead for cMSK Andy Bennett. They are:
- Simon Ingram (South West): a consultant physiotherapist from Somerset NHS FT
- Sunette Moore (South East): a consultant physiotherapist from NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB
- Linus Onah (East of England): a GP from NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB
- Edward Baker (Midlands): a consultant physiotherapist from NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB
- Diarmuid Ferguson (North East and Yorkshire): an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner from Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT
- Laura Atherton (North West): a consultant physiotherapist from NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
- Fiona Wood (London): an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner from Homerton Healthcare NHS FT.
The Government announced the launch of the Get Britain Working White Paper in November as part of the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation, bringing together skills and health to get more people into work and get on in work.
“For too long people locked out of work with health issues have been forgotten about and denied the support they need to get well and get working. It’s stifling our economy and preventing those eager to progress in life from unleashing their full potential. This multi-million-pound funding boost means MSK patients across the country will get the help they need, as we give clinical leaders the resources to innovate, get people off waiting lists and get Britain working again.”
“With prevention, early detection and treatment, we know that the 17 million people in England living with musculoskeletal issues could better manage their conditions, improving their quality of life and enabling them to rejoin the workforce. Through the Plan for Change, the government is taking decisive action to drive down waiting lists, improve treatment options and boost the economy.”
*The 17 ICBs taking part in the programme are:
- Birmingham and Solihull ICB
- Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire ICB
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB
- Cheshire (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB) ICB
- Cornwall ICB
- Devon ICB
- Dorset ICB
- Greater Manchester ICB – Manchester / Oldham
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight
- Leicester Leicestershire & Rutland ICB
- Norfolk and Waveney ICB
- North Central London ICB
- North East and North Cumbria ICB
- North East London ICB
- Northamptonshire ICB
- Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB
- Sussex ICB
