Tribute paid to hard-working teams as MSK service goes live

This week has seen Musculoskeletal Services Shropshire and Telford (MSST) go live – marking the culmination of a whole lot of work during phase one of the system MSK Transformation Programme.

The service launched on Monday (13 February) and was a landmark day for MSK services in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin which means that residents right across the region will now access services in an equitable way, using our new Universal Referral Form.

This form ensures the triage team get the information they need to be able to assess patients’ needs, and is a quicker process for the referrer to complete. The new triage team, staffed by clinicians from RJAH, SaTH and Shropcom, will ensure patients get to the right service in the MSK pathway.

Our new Referral Centre ensures patients who need to move into services in the pathway do so without being sent back to the GPs for re-referral, making the pathway more time effective for both patients and primary care teams.

This pathway gives us a single, streamlined service with clear accountability to improve patient experience, outcomes and service quality. It means one MSK model across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin – including MSK Therapy (Physio, Hand OT, MSK Podiatry), MSK Interface, Rheumatology, Orthotics, MSK Chronic Pain.

Mike Carr, Senior Responsible Officer for the MSK Transformation Programme, stated: “I really want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in getting to this stage. It has been a long, and at times difficult journey. That we have reached this point is down to the commitment of everyone involved – from primary care, from our three providers and from our commissioners as well.

“We have had to break down organisational barriers and establish new ways of working – making sure the patient is at the forefront of everything we are doing. This is just the start, but it is a moment to pause and reflect on what we have already achieved.”

There is still so much more to do, and over the next three years or so, the MSK Transformation Programme will:

  • review orthopaedic services across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin
  • enhance rheumatology services
  • deliver an outpatients improvement project
  • strengthen the support available for Primary Care
  • review opportunities to improve pathways for patients with falls, fractures and osteoporosis

 

Back to 'Features'

Page last updated 12 April 2023