Barnsley offers a service called First Contact Physio – patients can be referred to this service without needing to see a GP first, the physio can assess and diagnose in most cases and refer to appropriate services where needed.
In May 45 patients were seen from our surgery, 97.8% of those patients did not need to be seen by a GP, saving at least 45 appointments which could be used for other conditions.
In most cases patients will get an appointment either same or next day, which makes this a very useful service.
We would encourage patients to use this service in preference to seeing one of the GPs in the first instance, as the physiotherapists are specialists in their field and can treat most issues directly.
First Contact Physio service
