A NEW academy has been launched by the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital to cut down the number of GP appointments needed to care for chronic joint pains.
The Northfield Hospitals NHS Foundation has launched the MSK Academy to empower those with the expertise and skills in musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions to provide better patient care.
In the UK, MSK conditions make up over a quarter of GP consultations and the new academy is attempting to help bring those numbers down.
Uzo Ehiogu, MSK academy clinical lead, said: “MSK conditions are highly prevalent in this country – chronic joint pain affects nearly 9million people in the UK and MSK conditions account for over a quarter of GP consultations.
“For the NHS to help bring these numbers down we need to arm first contact practitioners and GPs with the knowledge to prevent MSK conditions from worsening, aid early decision making in the patient pathway and support staff across the entire patient journey in providing the best patient care.
“We’re really excited to be launching the MSK Academy to help tackle these challenges and support healthcare professionals across the region.”
The MSK Academy will provide virtual and face to face learning opportunities for those who have an interest in musculoskeletal healthcare and will deliver training to support early career practitioners in Allied Healthcare, nursing, GP trainees and surgical trainees.
It will do this by harnessing the hospitals existing education, library and research services alongside further leveraging its partnerships with industry and universities.
Visit mskacademy.co.uk for more information.
