Welcome to Our First Contact Practitioner (FCP) Services for Musculoskeletal (MSK) Care Expert MSK Care Without the Wait!

Are you suffering from joint pain, muscle aches, or other musculoskeletal issues? Our First Contact Practitioner (FCP) service offers direct access to expert MSK care without the need for a GP referral. Our highly skilled physiotherapists are here to assess, diagnose, and manage your condition from your very first appointment.

What Is a First Contact Practitioner (FCP)?

A First Contact Practitioner (FCP) is a highly trained specialist in musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions who can assess and diagnose MSK problems at the very start of your treatment journey. As part of a growing initiative in the UK, FCPs are qualified to work in primary care settings, meaning they provide fast and direct access to expert MSK care.

Why Choose Our FCP Services?

Our Services Include:

Comprehensive MSK Assessment
Our FCPs use their in-depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology to assess both differentiated and undifferentiated MSK conditions, providing an accurate diagnosis from the first point of contact.

Manual Therapy & Manipulation
We provide advanced manual therapy techniques, including joint mobilisations, manipulations, and soft tissue techniques, to alleviate pain and restore mobility.

Exercise Prescription
Our FCPs develop tailored exercise programs that focus on strengthening, mobility, and improving functionality, empowering patients to actively manage their conditions.

Self-Management Support
We provide practical advice on self-care strategies, lifestyle modifications, and ergonomic adjustments, ensuring long-term relief and preventing future injuries.

Referrals and Advanced Imaging
For cases requiring further investigation, we can arrange referrals for diagnostic imaging ( ultrasound, X-ray) or specialist consultations.

Advantages of a First Contact Practitioner (FCP) Physiotherapist in a GP practice include :

1. Faster Access to Specialist Care
Immediate Assessment: Patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) problems can see an FCP physio without needing to go through a GP first, reducing waiting times for assessment.
Direct Triage: FCPs are highly trained in diagnosing MSK conditions and can begin treatment straight away, ensuring faster care for patients.

2. Reduced GP Workload
Alleviates GP Pressure: FCPs handle MSK-related cases, which account for a significant portion of GP appointments, allowing GPs to focus on other complex or chronic health issues.
Efficient Referrals: FCPs can independently refer patients for diagnostic imaging (e.g., X-rays, MRIs) or to specialists, reducing the burden on GPs for referrals.

3. Enhanced Patient Outcomes
Early Intervention: By receiving specialist MSK care earlier, patients can start the right treatment sooner, leading to better outcomes and preventing conditions from worsening.
Holistic Management: FCPs can provide a combination of manual therapy, exercise prescription, and self-management advice, helping patients manage their conditions effectively in the long term.

4. Cost-Effective Healthcare
Reduces Unnecessary Referrals: FCPs can manage MSK cases in primary care, reducing unnecessary referrals to orthopaedics, rheumatology, or secondary care, which helps lower healthcare costs.
Fewer Prescriptions: FCPs focus on physical treatments, reducing the need for pain medication prescriptions, particularly opioids, which can carry risks of dependency.

5. Improved Patient Satisfaction
Specialist Expertise: Patients appreciate seeing a specialist who understands MSK issues in-depth, leading to more accurate diagnoses and tailored treatments.
Longer Appointments: FCPs often provide longer appointment times than GPs, allowing for thorough assessments and more detailed explanations to patients.

6. Promotes Self-Management and Preventative Care
Patient Empowerment: FCPs educate patients on self-management strategies and lifestyle changes, which encourages long-term health improvements and reduces the recurrence of MSK issues. Lifestyle changes include exercise advocacy to help manage lifestyle diseases .
Preventative Approach: By identifying early signs of MSK conditions, FCPs can intervene before issues become chronic or debilitating.

7. Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Integrated Care: FCPs work alongside GPs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in a practice, promoting integrated care and improving patient pathways.
Seamless Referrals: FCPs collaborate with the wider healthcare team to ensure patients are referred to the appropriate specialists or services if needed, creating a seamless patient journey.

8. Supports NHS Goals of Early MSK Management
Meets NHS Targets: The introduction of FCPs in primary care aligns with NHS initiatives to manage MSK conditions more effectively at the community level, reducing the strain on secondary care services.

9. Reduces Unnecessary Investigations
Focused Diagnostics: FCPs are skilled at clinical examination and can often make a diagnosis without the need for unnecessary imaging or blood tests, reducing patient anxiety and healthcare costs.

Why Us :

All our physio’s are masters trained with a minimum of 5 year’s experience which enables an advanced level of patient assessment, clinical reasoning and decision making relevant to a musculoskeletal first contact role, including choice of appropriate investigations, treatment, care planning (including onward referral as appropriate).

Our physios are able to demonstrate an advanced understanding of the role and application of the wider determinants of health within a musculoskeletal first contact role, including return to work, health promotion, prevention & lifestyle interventions, self-management and behaviour change.

Our physio’s have advanced level of communication and person-centred care relevant to a musculoskeletal first contact role. We are also able to critically evaluate the role of evidence-based practice and service development within a musculoskeletal first contact role, including approaches to service design, planning, and measurement of value and impact within primary care.

Our appointments are at least 30 minutes which would include an Assessment and treatment session including exercise prescription and another follow up session if required.

We are able to offer the FCP services in most of England and Wales .Please email us at fcp@prorehab.co.uk to discuss our services in greater detail .