What is our Specialist Service?

This service is for adult patients (aged 16 and over) who are not able to manage their musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms, despite having appropriate treatment, such as prior physiotherapy management. The role of this service is to clarify the diagnosis and review other treatment options. If appropriate, they can request blood tests, nerve conduction studies, X-rays, CT or MRI scans to aid this process.

Once they have established the diagnosis, they can refer you to the appropriate health professional or service to best manage your condition.

The Specialists are also able to provide injections of steroid for certain conditions and can refer you for surgery as appropriate.

All treatments are based on national and local guidance for specific conditions.

How can I get referred to this service?

Referral to this service is only available by your GP or FCP from your GP surgery. All referrals are then triaged, after which they may arrange to have an appointment with the Specialists, or alternatively your referral may then be directed to a more appropriate health professional such as a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist or hospital consultant to review and manage you condition.

What to expect from an appointment

The Specialist may offer you a face to face, video or telephone appointment.

Your initial consultation will last up to 45 minutes depending on your needs. The Specialist will ask you a range of questions about your problem, medical history as well as complete a thorough physical assessment. They will talk to you about anything you might have already tried to solve your problem, the impact your problem is having on daily life, and also what your expectations of the appointment are.

Following your consultation, you will be able to discuss your condition and the best management plan for you. This may include referral for further investigations or more specialist opinions as appropriate.  

Where to go?

We offer appointments at different sites across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Please follow the link to see more information on our sites.

What to bring/wear

We recommend you wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that will allow us to easily see the joints and muscles around your affected areas.

So that we can achieve the best assessment possible of your condition, we may ask you to remove or move clothing around the problem area. You have a choice not to do this if you are not comfortable. Please discuss this with your Specialist who will then modify the assessment progress accordingly. Also, you are welcome to have someone with you if you do not feel comfortable doing this on your own, or you can ask for a chaperone to be present at the consultation.

Why a scan/MRI might/might not be recommended

Sometimes your doctor may refer you to our service advising you may need further investigations such as a MRI scan or an x-ray. In some cases these investigations may not be appropriate and if this is the case then the Specialist will explain this to you.

How many appointments will I have

You may need more than one visit to diagnose and treat your condition. Some of these visits will require you to visit a hospital for further tests (e.g. scans). The number of visits will be determined by these findings and the best treatment for your condition.

What should I do if I’m running late?

Unfortunately, if you are more than 10 minutes late we may not be able to proceed with your appointment on that day. This is because we allocate time to assess your condition(s) and determine the best action towards your care. Therefore if you are late we may need to rebook you for another appointment.

If you are running late by more than 10 minutes, please contact 0300 555 0123 and speak to our team.

What happens if I fail to attend an appointment?

Failure to attend or late notice of cancellations increases our waiting times considerably and may lead to you being discharged in accordance with our access policy. Our policy states that a missed appointment with no prior warning will result in the patient being discharged from the service.

Follow-up process/what to do if your condition is not improving

We run a patient initiated follow-up  'opt-in' booking system, where if your problem persists you can call us on 0300 555 0123  to book an appointment if required. This is available to you for up to six months following your last appointment if you still remain under our care and haven’t been referred to a consultant or hospital clinic for further management.