GIRFT’s musculoskeletal (MSK) Community Delivery Programme (CDP) is being rolled out across England, building on the success of the pilot initiative in reducing waiting lists.
£3.2m of government funding has been allocated to the rollout, with the aim of enabling thousands more people living with conditions like arthritis and back pain receive faster care and helping them get back to work.
The new funding will support interventions including MSK community appointment days (CADs) – one-day clinics that bring health specialists and mental health support and physical activity services together, allowing people to engage with multiple services in one visit – and “super clinics”, which increase clinical capacity by providing one-to-one assessment, targeted treatments and in-depth clinical diagnostics in a single clinic.
The funding will be directed at areas with the greatest need and will ensure that every area has dedicated clinical leadership in place to drive best practice care, standardising quality, helping to support patients to get into and remain in work.
The national rollout follows a successful pilot – funded by government’s Joint Work and Health Directorate (JWHD) and delivered by GIRFT – which reduced 18-week waiting lists by 20% in the 17 pilot ICBs between December 2024 and March 2025.
The pilot programme adapted the principles and methodology of the GIRFT Further Faster programme, with a six-point plan supporting systems to evaluate their local community MSK provision guided by a Further Faster handbook, and to identify high impact interventions to reduce their waiting list backlog while sustaining best patient outcomes and patient experience.
A second cohort of the MSK CDP was later implemented in six more ICBs, supported by a further £2.2m from JWHD.
“It’s hugely encouraging to see this transformative initiative now being expanded across every health system in England after seeing waiting lists fall by 20 per cent across 17 pilot areas in just a few months. Musculoskeletal conditions are one of the biggest drivers of sickness absence and economic inactivity, affecting more than 17 million people nationwide. This rollout will help many more patients get faster access to high-quality care closer to home. By bringing together clinical care, employment support and wider community services under one roof, GIRFT is transforming how the NHS supports people – helping patients not only recover more quickly, but return to work, independence and everyday life.”
“I’m delighted to announce the national rollout of such a successful scheme, which will help address the unacceptably long waits for painful musculoskeletal conditions. Patients are suffering, and so is the economy, which is why this government is taking a new approach to cutting waiting lists while supporting patients back into employment. The NHS should drive economic growth, and by getting people with painful MSK conditions the care they need faster, they stand a better chance of getting a job and back to normal life.”
Musculoskeletal conditions affect nearly 18 million people in England and are among the leading causes of health-related economic inactivity in the UK, accounting for 100,000 people currently signed off work. More than half a million people who are currently economically inactive for health reasons report a musculoskeletal condition.
The national expansion of GIRFT MSK CDP will ensure that access to work and health support is woven into community MSK care as standard.
“We welcome this much-needed focus on MSK issues, which have often been overlooked in the past. Faster access to the expert assessment, diagnosis and treatment that physiotherapists and other key professionals provide will reduce waiting lists and help keep people in work – or help them return quickly – while reducing the impact on other parts of the system. If successful, this initiative is good news for patients and the NHS and represents a long overdue recognition of the critical importance of addressing MSK health.”
"No one should feel locked out of work because of a painful joint or muscle condition, and this investment will make a real difference to hundreds of thousands of people across England. By ensuring MSK services direct people to employment support, we are making it easier for people to get well and get back to work, and the pilot results show this approach works. Giving people the support they need to get into a good, secure jobs is better for people who want to work, for business, and our economy.”
