Physios in Highlands GP practices could reduce hospital referrals
Hospital referrals for musculoskeletal problems can be significantly reduced if medical practices include a physiotherapist as part the general practice team.
That’s the findings from recent trials at Burnfield Medical Practice in. Inverness. They resulted in referrals to Raigmore Hospital Orthopaedics being around 75 per cent less compared to other GP practices in the area.
Similarly, referrals to physiotherapy department at NHS Highland’s Raigmore Hospital are also 75 per cent less compared to GP practices in the area.
Conducted by practice physiotherapist Ciaran McManus, the results were outlined at an NHS Scotland conference held in Glasgow.
Mr McManus is directly employed to primarily see patients as a ‘first contact practitioner’ and provide physiotherapy treatment within the practice.
Burnfield Medical Practice’s referral rate to orthopaedics sits around 1.2 per cent per 1,000 patients per year whereas the average for other practices in NHS Highland’s Inner Moray Firth Operational Unit (South & Mid) is around 2.9 per cent per 1,000 patients.
Mr McManus, who also works at Raigmore, said: "Traditionally referrals from Burnfield have always been low, but the key driver to our being able to reduce hospital referrals was by having a physiotherapist in primary care, so patients are able to see an allied health practitioner instead of a GP."
By taking this multidisciplinary approach, the whole team at Burnfield - GPs, nurses, clinical technicians and receptionists – were able to send patients to Mr McManus for assessment and diagnosis at the practice rather than Raigmore.
He said: "Other practices operate a triage service and patients then need to go to hospital for treatment. The difference is that because I’m a trained prescriber and steroid injector, I can provide treatment, medication and advice right here in the practice."
Mr McManus said that the MSK service model at Burnfield had evolved over time, and had generated considerable interest from other GP practices.
