Integrated MSK Service

The provider currently delivers MSK community care across the West Essex area. This includes triage, physiotherapy, Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioners (APP), First Contact Practitioners, podiatric surgery, a pain management team, and podiatry services. The provider offers a high-quality service supported by highly experienced staff who deliver triage, assessment, diagnosis, diagnostics, and treatment to patients.

The intention is to award a contract to the existing provider through the Direct Award Process C.

Service dates: 01/04/2026 – 31/03/2031

Contract value: £23,743,285

The existing provider is successfully meeting the requirements of the original contract and is expected to continue delivering the proposed contract to a satisfactory standard 100%.

k1. The contract is to remain the same and the provider will continue to provide triage, physiotherapy, APP, FCP, podiatric surgery, pain management and podiatry. Activity plans will remain the same, however the APP plan will have a seasonal variance. There is to be no change to capacity within the service.

The service will be continually monitored but should remain achieving DNA and waiting time KPIs. It is expected that pathway review work will continue which in turn will improve the onward referral rate and support secondary care in increasing conversion to surgery rates.

The provider will be required to regularly collect and submit patient satisfaction data, this is collected but not currently routinely reported.

The provider will continue to review services and new guidance to ensure quality standards are met. The partnership will review how more technology, can be incorporated into the pathway to improve patient experience and focus on prevention as per the 10 year plan.

k2. The contract is not changing so will continue to provide value by providing community services closer to home. As part of the pathway reviews there will be opportunity to provide more in reach to secondary care for follow up outpatient appointments, further reducing the number of consultant appointments required as per Get It Right First Time (GIRFT) guidance.

k3. The provider will continue to provide FCPs in primary care and offer education and peer review to primary care clinicians at GP shut down sessions.

As part of the pathway reviews there is opportunity to have more APPs providing in-reach to consultant clinics to focus on follow up outpatient appointments, as per get it right first time (GIRFT) pathways. The pathway review will also improve referrals, conversion rates to surgery and discharge rates from clinic as we have seen in the shoulder sub-speciality.

The spinal MDT is also expected to be expanded to discuss all patients not just complex patients. The provider is keen to support this and is reviewing capacity and referral rates to see how this can be achieved.

k4. Access to locations will remain unchanged and the current accessible locations will continue to be in place.

FCPs will continue to be in place across the West Essex patch offering MSK care at the beginning of the pathway.

Self referral will continue to be in place ensuring MSK care can be accessed without the need of a GP/primary care appointment

k5. The service will continue to be a provider in the community, at the current locations providing care closer to home, ensuring less travel costs for patients to attend appointments and reducing carbon emissions.