A one-stop-shop for people accessing Musculoskeletal physiotherapy has resulted in a significant reduction in waiting times for the service and improved outcomes for patients.
The team held two community appointment days at Inverness Leisure in February, where patients were able to attend their appointment and access support across many aspects of their life from NHS Highland and partner agencies.
A total of 370 patients were invited to attend the event, which was jointly organised by NHS Highland and High-Life Highland, and access support from the physio team and wider services including NHS Pharmacy, Versus Arthritis, Samaritans and 13 other partners.
Nicola Bailey, NHS Highland’s Physiotherapy Professional Lead, said: “The community appointment day has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from service users, staff and partner agencies. It has shown to be a valuable learning and networking experience for staff and stakeholders.
“Some of the feedback we have received highlighted the sense of positivity in the room and that patients felt valued and listened to. They really appreciated their questions and concerns being addressed in one space across many areas of their life. We recorded over 220 additional conversations on the day as well as the core contact with our physio teams. This shows patients were engaging with the other support services who were in attendance.
“Before we held the event, the waiting list for Musculoskeletal (MSK) physio was 60 weeks and this was reduced to four weeks shortly after. This has been maintained at four weeks over the last three months, indicating longer-term benefits of the event for both patients, staff and service delivery.
“There has also been around 40% reduction in frequency of GP practice visits reported by patients in this timeframe, underlining the benefits on wider services across the NHS.
“Close to 60% of the patients we invited have reported that, after three months, they are managing their condition very well or it has been resolved, and over 95% of people have been discharged from our waiting lists. The benefits of having a range of services on hand in one area are clear to see, and we hope to have similar events like this across Highland in the near future.
“Thank you to all of our patients, staff and partners for taking part in this innovative and collaborative programme, aimed at tackling waiting lists and helping patients to access valuable access to support services.”
Jo McBain, NHS Highland’s Director of Allied Health Professionals, said: “This is a great example of collaborative working, learning from other boards experiences and tailoring our approach to better meet the needs of our population. The positive experience and outcomes for the people who use our services marks the start of an exciting journey for Physiotherapy services in NHS Highland."