NHS Savings

Raising the quality of MSK services

Nottingham West and Nottingham North & East

The MSK contract/service in NW and NNE was delivered between September 2013 and March 2016 by Nottingham University Hospital (NUH) with Connect sub-contracted to deliver the Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service (CATS) element of the service only. The aim of the service to manage more people in the community alone was only partially achieved. Following the re-procurement of the contract in 2015, Connect was awarded the whole community service contract with a mandate to optimise the pathway further. This service went live on 1 April 2016 with the aims:

To improve the access to and service user experience of musculoskeletal services (including physiotherapy assessment)
Streamline into one single point of access and MSK triage
Deliver routine and advanced MSK services in a community setting
Reduce costs in secondary care

View the summary results below or

Click here to view the updated figures relating to efficiencies and outcomes, up to April 2019

30%

reduction in elective T&O referrals (trauma and orthopaedics) to secondary care (Oct-Mar 18/19 compared to Oct-Mar 16/17)

12 Days

waiting times significantly improved from 84 days to just 12 days for physio face to face appointment (15/16 v 16/17)

£2.6m*

savings on T&O Elective and Day case spend in one year (2018)

*If NNE/NW Nottingham CCGs had the equivalent increase in T&O expenditure seen in other local CCGs (10%) this would have cost £2.6m more than the actual spend in 2018

100%

of clinicians agree that Connect Health is a great place to work

96%

of patients would recommend this service to friends and family (target = 90%). Collection is electronic, therefore all patients who are discharged from the service receive a questionnaire.

Operational Efficiencies and Improved Patient Outcomes

Highly cost-efficient when compared to traditional NHS MSK provision

Our innovative model of care uses performance data to achieve up to 30% service efficiency across our newly mobilised contracts.

Once in service, our processes save another 20%-30% improving productivity through a host of improvements, eg by reducing DNAs (did not attend), introducing technology, streamlining appointment times to just 48 hours for first contact with a physiotherapist, etc.

All these efficiency savings translate to financial savings for the NHS as well as better services for patients. This provides better value for money for the taxpayer and releases funds for other aspects of NHS care, MSK related or otherwise.

MSK: A new approach - National Guidance for Musculoskeletal Health

Good Governance Institute (GGI) and Connect Health have created national guidance for MSK (musculoskeletal) Health. These independent, practical resources aimed at time-poor senior NHS professionals, include assurance questions that board members and others developing services should be asking to ensure that local service development is progressing along sustainable lines to meet the needs of patients and the tax payer.

The Board Assurance Prompt contains all of the key information required for board members to take decisions on important issues and self-assess their performance, in a succinct and manageable format.