Service provider Connect Health asked Healthwatch to carry out the research to find out how users rated access, communication, involvement in their own care plans and the time given for appointments.
Specialist musculoskeletal clinicians assess, diagnose and manage conditions at six venues across South Tyneside: Cleadon Park Primary Care Centre; Flagg Court Primary Care Centre; Harton Sports Centre; Haven Point Leisure Centre; Hebburn Central and The Glen Primary Care Centre.
The team includes specialist clinicians covering all musculoskeletal areas, who provide a comprehensive assessment and a range of treatments and management plans in one of the community settings. They treat MSK conditions involving bones, joints and soft tissues.
Healthwatch South Tyneside staff and volunteers attended two of the South Tyneside Community Musculoskeletal Service clinics in January at The Glen Primary Care Centre in Hebburn and at Cleadon Park Primary Care Centre, where patients completed questionnaires.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with all respondents agreeing their experience of the service had met their expectations. Every patient said enough time had been allocated for their appointment that day to address what was important to them.
One patient said they had waited a month for their appointment, but all others were happy with theirs. Three of the respondents described their care as “brilliant”.
Healthwatch suggested Connect Health ensured all patients were asked at the outset what form of communication they preferred as not all liked emails or texts and preferred letters or phone calls, and also recommended directions were provided for the centres allocated for all appointments.
Connect Health has been a leading provider of NHS community services since 1993, including musculoskeletal conditions, chronic pain, orthopaedics and rheumatology.
More information about South Tyneside Community Musculoskeletal Service can be found here.
The full Healthwatch report can be downloaded here.
