FIRST CONTACT PHYSIOTHERAPY

FIRST CONTACT
PHYSIOTHERAPY

Durham Dales Health Federation supports the PCNs in recruiting ARRS staff for each PCN and the recruitment of these staff are agreed jointly with the lead practices at the monthly PCN meetings.

FIRST CONTACT
PHYSIOTHERAPY

For 2 of the PCNS the recruitment of the First Contact Physiotherapist (FCP) was agreed to be via County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust who recruit and line manage these staff.

Wear Valley PCN elected to recruit a physiotherapist (Ryan) via the Federation in 2022 and this has worked successfully resulting in a further Physiotherapist lead (Aimee) recruited in November 2023. Both physiotherapists cover 3 surgeries in Willington, North House and Weardale.

The current service improvement aim is to reduce the wait for patient access to a First Contact Physio from 2 weeks to same day/same week appointment, whichever is more appropriate for the particular issue.

An initial audit carried out in December 2023 covering a snapshot of 3 weeks in November 2023, and presented to the PCN meeting, showed a large increase in new referrals and reviews with an increase of access to 115 slots per week.