Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services (MCATS) - AQP

North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, is seeking to commission Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment service through a restricted procurement process. The preferred bidder will be required to demonstrate how they will deliver services in an environment of transforming health and social care provision as outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View, the Care Act 2014, and Northern Lincolnshire’s Healthy Lives Healthy Futures 5 year vision – 2015 to 2020.

The aim of the service is to provide a musculoskeletal clinical assessment and treatment service for the assessment of function and disability of musculoskeletal problems.

The Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment service will assess patients with a range of MSK conditions affecting their spine (neck, upper and lower back), upper and lower limbs and feet.

The Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment service will provide a community based service, operating Monday to Saturday 52 weeks per year offering a non-urgent service to people experiencing musculoskeletal conditions involving triage, assessment, limited treatment following triage and onward referral advice to the referring GP.

General Practitioners and other community health professionals would access the service for clinical assessment in the following circumstances:

• If they had a patient with an MSK condition which could not be managed in primary care

• If they required the management of their patient from clinicians who specialise in MSK conditions, prior to referral to secondary care services.

• Patients with complex MSK presentation not requiring surgical intervention or that have not benefited from the locally commissioned physiotherapy service, for further assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

The service provider will provide a contact number, accessible to all referring clinicians and to service users requiring advice and guidance, to support self-management.

The service provider must have systems in place which can deliver effective appointment booking, scheduling, tracking and management. The provider must provide advice to the referring GP regarding the onward referral for patients for further specialised care provided by the NHS, independent sector or social care.

The Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment service will triage referrals that have come into the system and ensure the patient is on the correct pathway. Following triage the referral will be accepted by the service or if the patient does not meet the service acceptance criteria, or the service feels the referral is not appropriate it would be returned to the referring GP with recommendations on the correct pathways for the patient.