MSK First Contact Practitioner roles; are they fit for the future for Primary Care?
by
Amanda Hensman-Crook FCSP, HEE AHP National Clinical Fellow, Consultant MSK Physiotherapist
Neil Langridge FCSP, Consultant MSK Physiotherapist
Laura Finucane FCSP, MSK Consultant MSK Physiotherapist
Chris Mercer FCSP, MSK Consultant MSK Physiotherapist
MSK First Contact Practitioner roles and the advancing practice agenda is moving at pace and as a result, there has been some anxiety around the MSK First Contact workforce. This has been expressed about several aspects of the roles, including:
- numbers needed to ensure sustainability without wider destabilisation of the MSK workforce
- where the workforce will come from with the requisite capability
- concern about governance of the roles
- who provides the supervision and support
- a general need to understand the offer of the role to primary care
- concern from other MSK professions that they are not included in the GP contract reimbursement scheme (DES) and where they might fit in the bigger picture.
Read more of this article
The Society of Musculoskeletal Medicine has taken the step of postponing all its courses scheduled to run in the coming months to the end of June 2020 (see below for Injection Courses information). Alternative dates will be advised as soon as they are available. We shall be keeping the situation under review and will advise on any further steps as necessary.
To help people access peer support whilst at home during the coronavirus outbreak, Arthritis Action is running a series of online group meetings. These will give people the opportunity to share their hints, tips and experiences with others about how they are managing their arthritis to include staying active at home, hobbies people are enjoying and local support available.
Following a successful start for the first cohort, applications are now open for the 
The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (UK) has updated their Staying Active at Home resources to include a series of short videos introducing some simple exercises that can be carried out at home, and which are particularly suitable for people who are older or have long-term health conditions. They include exercises that can be performed while sitting, standing, walking or lying down, and were produced with the help of Pure Sports Medicine.
The needs of children with inflammation/pain and their families in the context of coronavirus