Scunthorpe patients waiting for hospital appointments will be among the first in the country to benefit from a new physiotherapy initiative next month.
Physiotherapists from Scunthorpe General Hospital are inviting 115 patients with bad backs, shoulder injuries or leg, knee or ankle pain and other issues known as musculoskeletal (MSK) problems to a special Community Appointment Day (CAD) at The Pods, the sports and leisure facility next to Central Park.
The team of 16 MSK physios, supported by hospital admin staff, will conduct assessments but will then empower people to take charge of their own recovery through lifestyle changes such as weight management, increased exercise or help with mental health, loneliness or money worries.
Advanced Practitioner Physiotherapist Hollie Iggleden, leading the CAD initiative, said: “Rather than just handing someone an exercise sheet, we want conversations not just consultations to make sure people receive the right support for all their needs.
“We see more than 10,000 MSK referrals at Scunthorpe every year and many of these patients have other factors affecting their health like smoking or poor diets. But there can also be other factors like unemployment, housing problems, debt or mental health issues like depression, anxiety and loneliness.
“People will receive a physio assessment during our Community Appointment Day but we’ll be moving away from a traditional clinical, hospital-focused model to a one-stop shop involving support services, advice groups and charities helping all sorts of problems which can impact on someone’s health under one roof.”
NHS Humber Health Partnership, the group formed by Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, is one of the first NHS organisations to introduce CADs following their success in Sussex and York.
In Sussex, waiting lists fell from 16 weeks to 10 weeks after CADs were introduced. Half of the patients attending were referred to a community service and one-third were discharged from the waiting list altogether following advice and support. Only 10pc of those discharged from the waiting list had to be seen again.
Scunthorpe General Hospital currently has a long waiting list for physiotherapy and research shows many people fail to keep appointments or have to return to hospital repeatedly because their wider health problems are not being addressed.
Hollie said: “A lot of problems like poor housing or economic factors can impact on a person’s ability to engage with physiotherapy or they don’t improve in the way we would expect.
“We’re hoping this new approach, giving people access to activities like free walking groups and reduced-price exercise sessions as well as social prescribing, support and advice to help them find jobs, get debt advice or improve their moods will encourage them to take more ownership of their conditions so they get well again.
North Lincolnshire Council, public health teams, charities including Talking Shop and Mind and exercise teams will work alongside Scunthorpe General’s MSK Physio Outpatients team throughout the event on Monday, June 3, at The Pods in Scunthorpe.
Letters inviting people to the CAD will start dropping through people’s doors this month.