Musculoskeletal specialist consultation service
Lakeside's Northants practices offer Musculoskeletal specialist consultation service
A team of physiotherapists is delivering services at Lakeside practices in Corby, Kettering and Oundle. Patients with musculoskeletal problems can request help from the First Contact Physio team by asking the care navigators for a referral for their muscle, nerve or bone issues.
The clinics are run by practitioners from Innovate Physio. Founder, James Stupples and colleagues, Thomas Benjamin and Patrick Noubissie are all highly qualified in NHS and sports physiotherapy and have previously worked with top football teams including Leeds Utd, Leicester City and Manchester United.
James said: 'Instead of seeing a GP you can see a specialist for a muscle, joint, nerve, tendon or ligament issue as sometimes pain is the symptom, not the cause of the problem. We identify the problem and address the underlying cause as to how it came to be. This educational aspect enables the patient to better resolve the problem and significantly reduces prescriptions for repeat pain relief. It is about seeing the right person first time in Primary Care as we triage and aim to discharge over 80 per cent of people in a single session.'
The team members have Masters' degrees in neurophysiology, biomechanics and sports medicine. Thomas and Patrick hold clinics at Corby on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, at Kettering on Wednesday and Friday at Oundle.
James said: 'We also do some evening work at Corby and so regularly see over 100 patients a week, which takes the workload from the GPs.
Around one in four of all patients attend the GP practice for musculoskeletal conditions so it is a service that is needed. There is a high demand and feedback on our service is really positive. We work closely with the Primary Care Network team to give Lakeside patients the most appropriate care and the best service that we can.