Lamb Kirsten, Comer Christine, Walsh Nicola, McHugh Gretl
Leeds Community Health Care NHS Trust, Leeds, UK.
Centre for Health and Clinical Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
Musculoskeletal Care. 2023 Dec;21(4):1554-1562. doi: 10.1002/msc.1834. Epub 2023 Oct 14.
First Contact Practice Physiotherapists (FCPPs) offer expert care for patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions in Primary Care, usually within GP practices. This is a rapidly expanding area of practice endorsed by NHS England, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and the British Medical Association (BMA). Efficient and appropriate access is important for optimising FCPP practice, but there is little published information about how patients currently access FCPP appointments.
To investigate how patients access FCPP appointments in General Practice.
Cross-sectional online survey of FCPPs in the UK.
FCPPs were surveyed about patient access to appointments. The survey instrument was designed using Jisc Online Surveys, piloted, and then distributed via social media and professional groups to FCPPs nationwide. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse demographic and multiple-choice questions, and free text responses were analysed using quantitative content analysis.
193 participants completed the survey. Booking via GP Reception (n = 179) was reported as the most common route into an FCPP appointment, closely followed by booking after seeing another clinician for the problem (n = 172).
This research has provided clarity regarding how patients access the rapidly growing speciality of FCPP within GP practices in the UK. The role of GP Reception staff in facilitating access to FCPPs, the application of triage and the use of digital or online systems were highlighted as important elements for enabling efficient access to FCPPs by patients with MSK conditions.
首次接触实践物理治疗师（FCPPs）通常在全科医生诊所为基层医疗中患有肌肉骨骼疾病（MSK）的患者提供专业护理。这是一个迅速发展的实践领域，得到了英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS England）、英国特许物理治疗师协会（CSP）和英国医学协会（BMA）的认可。高效且恰当的就诊途径对于优化FCPP实践很重要，但关于患者目前如何获得FCPP预约的公开信息很少。
调查患者在全科医疗中如何获得FCPP预约。
对英国FCPPs进行的横断面在线调查。
就患者获得预约的情况对FCPPs进行调查。调查问卷使用Jisc在线调查工具设计，进行了预试验，然后通过社交媒体和专业团体分发给全国的FCPPs。使用描述性统计分析人口统计学和多项选择题，使用定量内容分析法分析自由文本回复。
193名参与者完成了调查。据报告，通过全科医生接待处预约（n = 179）是获得FCPP预约最常见的途径，紧随其后的是在就该问题咨询另一位临床医生后预约（n = 172）。
这项研究明确了英国患者在全科医生诊所中如何获得迅速发展的FCPP专科服务。全科医生接待处工作人员在便利患者获得FCPP服务方面的作用、分诊的应用以及数字或在线系统的使用被强调为使MSK疾病患者能够高效获得FCPP服务的重要因素。
