The location of your appointment should be contained within the confirmation you have received. Directions to all our clinics can be found on our website.

We deliver a range of NHS services for GPs and Clinical Commissioning Groups. These services are delivered in the community and are aimed at improving patient access and achieving the best possible outcome. We see patients aged 16+. Our services are evidence-based. They are delivered by highly trained, well managed and supported staff, who regularly update their professional development in keeping with best practice guidelines.

Our contract management and monitoring are assured through dedicated Clinical and Commercial leads and true partnership working with Commissioners. We offer the following services:

• Electronic screening and referral management
• Telephone triage and advice service
• Face-to-face Physiotherapy and Rehab Therapy Services
• MCATS Service (Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service)
• Online and face-to-face Exercise Classes
• Access to extensive resources to help GP’s and Patients manage their conditions

To ensure you are given sufficient time in your appointment for your treatment, if you arrive more than 10 minutes late you may be asked to rebook your appointment.

Please call 020 8778 9050 as soon as you know you will be unable to attend an appointment, so that it may be given to other patients. Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours’ prior to the appointment. Should you wish to cancel over the weekend or out of hours, please leave a message on our answering machine. All appointments are required to be rebooked within 1 week to avoid being discharged back to your GP.

Our cancellation policy is intended to avoid unnecessary loss of appointments, which can lead to increased waiting times:

• If you fail to attend your appointment or cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice more than once you will be discharged back to your GP.
• Frequently cancelling your appointments with more than 24 hours’ notice will also lead to being discharged back to your GP.
• If your last appointment was over 12 weeks ago or more, we may ask you for a new referral. This is because your injury may have changed in that time and we will need to re-assess you and create a new treatment plan for you.

We understand it can sometimes be unavoidable to cancel your appointment and these circumstances will always be considered if you inform us that you are unable to attend. The aim of our policy is to ensure our waiting times are kept to a minimum to benefit all of our patients.

• Physio-Direct is a telephone service to provide early advice and management for people with musculoskeletal problems
• Patients would receive earlier intervention dismissing any clinical red flags (i.e., whether they require urgent medical attention) and assessing the individual’s psychosocial response to their MSK injury.
• By tackling MSK problems earlier on, the likelihood of them becoming long lasting is reduced. Accessing intervention at the earliest point will allow self-management and treatment to begin efficiently and reduce the likelihood of progression from an acute to a chronic problem.
• This earlier intervention aims to improve overall health and well-being.

Recovering from injury often requires rehabilitation exercises that are gradually progressed over a number of weeks. Group Exercises Classes are small rehabilitation groups that are specifically designed to deal with common injuries or conditions that patients experience. When supplemented with at home exercises the vast majority of MSK conditions respond very well to consistent and progressive exercises over 12 weeks. Group Exercise Classes are a safe and effective way to help patients recover and get consistent support to learn suitable exercises and progressions for the first six weeks. Exercising in a group environment i.e with other people with the same or similar condition provides:

• Exercises which are specific to a patient’s condition
• Exercises set at the right intensity for an individual
• A Physiotherapist on hand to field any questions or concerns
• Encouragement and support from other patients in a similar situation
• Education about specific conditions, managing symptoms and the benefits of exercising
• The overall physical and psychological benefits of being more active

The exercises in a class are prescribed and performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles, improving the cardiovascular system, and developing or maintaining physical skills like balance. Our physiotherapists are experts in prescribing the right exercises to resolve various problems e.g., low back pain, early osteoarthritis etc.

What is involved?

• 1 class per week over a 6-week period led by one of our physiotherapists
• Each class will last 1 hour but everyone tends to start at slightly different levels
• Over the 6 weeks, the exercise will gradually increase but we will help you pace this What is involved?

Group Exercise Classes are delivered on a rolling program so patients can access them at any time. All we ask if for patients to be able to commit to a regular time every week to benefit from the classes.

You may have agreed with your clinician at your last appointment that an onward referral to a consultant will be made should your scan confirm the suspected diagnosis, if so, this will be done for you. We will update you with the results and confirmation that the referral has been done by either post or email as agreed in your appointment.

If your clinician needs to discuss the results with you prior to agreeing your ongoing management plan, as arranged in your last appointment this will be done over the telephone or by email.

Your clinician may suggest a face to face follow up appointment to discuss your results and ongoing management plan, in which case our Administration Team will contact you to book this.

We endeavour to process scan results within 10 working days from when we receive the report. Sometimes this may take longer as we deal with all results on clinical priority and request that you consider this before contacting us.

• A Triage Team will screen all Musculoskeletal (MSK) referrals against evidence-based criteria, dismissing any clinical red flags (i.e., whether they require urgent medical attention) and assessing the individual’s psychosocial response to their MSK injury.
• Following referral, individuals can be seen by our MCATS, remote or face to face Physiotherapists, Rehab Therapists. Patient can also avail of our online and face-to-face exercise classes.
• An assessment is made using questions designed to establish a provisional diagnosis and screen for any non-musculoskeletal conditions.
• Advice is given to patients, supplemented with bespoke information which is despatched by email, post or SMS.

All Musculoskeletal referrals from GP’s are sent via our MCATS team. We use Choose and Book and secure NHS.NET mail systems to be able to triage referrals safely and effectively from GP’s.

This has proven to be a highly effective service aiming to get Patients on the right pathway first time. Our triage decisions are audited by our Clinical Lead and in-house Sports and Exercise Medicine Doctor who provide an added level of assurance that patients are being seen in the right place.

With growing pressures on the health system some form of referral triage is seen as an essential step to ensure patients are seen appropriately and resources are used to the maximum. Electronic screening provides this step and is a valuable resource for GP’s and Patients.

MCATS stands for Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service. It is provided as part of an overall Musculoskeletal Pathway and effectively screens patients so they can be seen by the right clinician/service at the right time.

MCATS services are led by Advanced Practice Physiotherapists (APP’s) who are physiotherapists working at a high level of expertise and have extended their practice and skills in musculoskeletal medicine. APPs provide a high degree of skill in assessing patients and have advanced clinical reasoning skills.

APP’s have a broad knowledge of both the conservative and surgical options that may benefit a patient in the management of their condition. This enables them to have a wide-ranging discussion with the patient to help inform and advise them of the available options, most appropriate next step in their treatment, and likely outcomes.

Most Secondary Care services such as Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, and others, require Physiotherapy assessment and investigations like Blood tests, X-rays, MRI scans, Ultrasound scans before accepting referrals. Our APP’s can request the appropriate investigations where necessary and act on the findings of these to ensure that patients are seen by the right specialist/ Secondary Care service.

Within the MCATS clinics a range of peripheral joint injections can also be administered as a first line treatment option. They can also complete ultrasound scans for common peripheral joint injuries. This provides an additional level of access to these modalities of treatment without the need to make a referral into secondary care.

Patients who are referred to Secondary Care with appropriate investigations can work through the options with the Consultants at the Initial Outpatients appointment. Patients will tend to have less follow-up appointments and significantly higher conversion rates to surgery if they have attended an MCATS service before being seen in Secondary Care.

We can only discuss your appointments with you, this includes cancelling appointments. If you are happy for someone else to manage your appointments on your behalf, then please notify either our reception team on the day of your appointment or our customer service team on the number above.

Monday to Thursday 8am to 8pm

Friday 8am to 4pm

Our clinic opening hours vary, so please contact us or visit our website for further information.

Click here to contact us

If you have any special requirements please notify our team at the time of booking. If you have already booked your appointment then please call our team on the number below in advance of your appointment. If you require a chaperone please inform us in advance so that we can arrange this for you.

Please wear (or bring to change into) suitable clothing that allows the physiotherapist to effectively examine your injury (the body part to be treated needs to be accessible). Shorts, vest top or other similar attire generally work well in the clinics.

No. The treatment you receive is via the NHS so no payment is required from you.

The physiotherapist will take a detailed history and then do an examination using a number of recognised tests to try to establish the nature of your problem. They will then begin treatment with you or advise you on the best course of action. This will often include a series of exercises and other self-management advice to help you recover. It is important that you follow this advice because our experience tells us that the patients who follow their plans generally respond better to treatment.

If you would like to share feedback or raise a particular issue about your treatment or care please contact us on feedback@vhg.co.uk, detailing your contact details and a summary of your feedback. One of our team will be in touch to discuss this with you.

Alternatively, you can contact the Care Quality Commission by clicking here.

Please arrive in good time before your appointment to change into some suitable clothing if needed. Please bring any relevant information that you think the physiotherapist may find useful e.g. x-ray results, letters from consultants, medical reports etc. Your appointments will last up to 30 minutes so please allow enough time for your assessment and treatment.

Your therapist will explain to you on your first session the process of therapy and the treatment protocol you have been triaged for. The therapist will discuss confidentiality, our discharge and attendance policy and there will be time for you to voice any questions regarding these. You can choose to consent or decline a treatment if you so wish.

Vita Health Group is committed to safeguarding all vulnerable patients who access our services. We work together with our partner organisations to safeguard vulnerable adults and children from all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation. In line with Care Quality Commission (CQC), Fundamental Standards 2015, people who use services will be protected from abuse, or the risk of abuse, and their human rights respected and upheld.

If you would like to bring a supportive person to your initial session, please inform administration of this in advance of your appointment.

Vita Health Group work together with health professionals such as your GP or Consultant. This can include sharing information about you to make sure the care you are given is the best, is right for you and meets your needs. You are able to opt out of us sharing your information. The Government has emphasised the importance of security and confidentiality in relation to personal information and has strengthened the legislation and guidance in this area, in particular through the Data Protection Act 2018.  We only use your data for treatment purposes and records are kept securely for 8 years.