# MSK Partners Network ## Posts ### Why join MSKPN? Why join MSKPN?     Hear from Chair Simon Devane, CEO Pure Sports Med and Board Director Natasha Price, MD, Central Health, as they share the story behind why MSKPN was founded — inspired by the incredible peer support during Covid. 💬 "It's like having the CEO you never had." Whether it's commercial advice, confidence in decision-making, or leadership development for you and your team — MSKPN brings together independent providers with collective strength. ✅ Partnerships with key membership organisations ✅ Discounts on essential tools & services ✅ Practical leadership & quality training ✅ A shared endeavour for outcome data — easier, simpler, and consistent Natasha: "I didn’t have a CFO or CEO — I’m a physio by background. MSKPN helped me negotiate with insurers and navigate PROMs. I couldn’t have done it alone. I’ve since sold my business to another group - and MSKPN played a big part." Contact us today to join a network that supports you to grow, lead and deliver quality care: enquiries@mskpn.co.uk ### Erica Casey: Members showcase Erica Casey, CEO of Bodyset, talks to us about the benefits of being a member of MSKPN and how it helps growing physio practices. “MSKPN gives clarity on market forces” We're stronger together than alone We joined MSKPN in October 2024 as a Tier 1 member, after one of their Board directors shared the impactful work members were having, especially around influencing PMIs on pricing and addressing shared challenges. One of the biggest drivers for joining was the opportunity to gain more power to drive significant change with insurance providers and recognising the quality and value that the private sector adds. Joining has been incredibly valuable While I can’t attend every seminar or event, the summary updates are extremely useful - especially when time is limited. Insights into macro trends help inform discussions with our shareholders and board. Membership has met my expectations, particularly with the progress in PMI pricing. Support through shared challenges One valuable aspect has been the WhatsApp group - particularly during our practice management system transition, it was reassuring to see others facing similar issues. There was real comfort in knowing we weren’t alone and could share pain points openly. We exchanged contacts, and the board offered helpful suggestions and resources to guide us through the process. My advice to other practices Membership offers great value - you can engage as much as your time allows, and even limited involvement helps you stay informed. You truly get out what you put in. For anyone considering joining, I’d say give it a try for a year. Every practice will find value for their business.= What MSKPN offers us as a growing business Support in driving commercial efficiency, particularly through referral channels like PMI A stronger collective voice on broader issues, such as CSP policy reviews and fair pricing Insights into leveraging technology - like implementing Cemplicity and using AI to streamline systems and administrative tasks Top 3 benefits of being part of MSKPN Community power – Gaining a stronger collective voice for lobbying and advocacy by working together Shared challenges and goals – Learning from others facing similar issues and aligning on common objectives Clarity on market forces – Receiving distilled, sector-specific insights from broader market research, helping us stay focused and informed Read more about Lucy’s career and progress to date … Consumer focused growth With a life science background and 20 years in consumer healthcare, food, pharma, and ecommerce, I joined Bodyset in August 2020 as COO and became CEO in 2021. Now with 42 sites and a team of 109 – including over 80 clinicians - we’re one of the UK’s fastest-growing private physiotherapy and MSK groups. Our aim is to keep expanding, making high-quality care more accessible on the high street, from London to regional flagships like West Sussex, Surrey and Bristol. We’re currently driving a major digital transformation, including a new patient management system, booking process, website, client portal, client app, HR system and careers site - all designed to put the consumer experience at the heart of what we do. Inspired by enabling people to reach their full potential I’ve always worked in consumer goods and services and have been drawn to industries that empower people to become the best version of themselves. From medical aesthetics to weight management, and now MSK, my focus has consistently been on helping individuals achieve their personal goals and get the best out of their bodies. Challenges across the technology landscape One of the ongoing challenges in this sector has been the outdated nature of supporting systems and technology - particularly CRM and patient management platforms. A key personal objective has been to modernise and integrate these systems to meet today’s expectations. Clients increasingly expect seamless access to their data across channels, and delivering on that expectation has been both a significant challenge and a motivator. I love reading our client feedback One of the most joyous parts of our work is reading the weekly Bodyset Bulletin - especially the Google reviews. Seeing a collection of 5-star reviews cuts through the noise and evidences our clients’ progress, whether it’s running a marathon, returning to sport, recovering from surgery, or postnatal support, this helps us to see that we are delivering on our promise to our clients. Learn more at https://mskpn.co.uk Download Erica Casey showcase here: Erica Casey members showcase ### MSKPN Board appoints experienced MSK clinician as new director Musculoskeletal Partners Network (MSKPN) warmly welcomes Cameron Tudor to the Board as a Director, effective 1 June 2025. As Managing Director of West London Physiotherapy and with over two decades of experience as a physiotherapist in Australia and the UK, Cameron has been an active Tier 1 member of MSKPN since its formation in 2018. Recognising the benefits of being part of a community of shared problem solving, he is keen to further help members with regular education, commercial advice and being an advocate for private healthcare. Cameron Tudor expressed enthusiasm about his new role as a MSKPN Board Director, stating “After seven years as a member and seeing how it has helped so many clinic owners, I am eager to contribute more broadly to the industry. Serving on the Board offers a meaningful opportunity to support the sector's ongoing development. I value open dialogue and believe that constructive debate fosters innovation and clarity.” Simon Devane, MSKPN Chair and CEO Pure Sports Medicine added: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to Cameron for accepting this role. His forward-thinking approach, coupled with a strong interest in AI and technology, means his contributions will be invaluable to our members and the broader industry.” Since founding his first practice in Kensington in 2007, Cameron expanded the enterprise to four clinics, employing nearly 50 team members. More recently, he made the strategic decision to sell three of the clinics, enabling a return to part-time clinical practice and supporting a more balanced integration of professional and personal life. At 17, Cameron sustained a back injury while playing basketball at a regional level in Australia. Originally planning to study engineering, the experience redirected him toward a career in physiotherapy, with a focus on musculoskeletal health. Today, he values the flexibility of running his own business and the problem-solving involved in helping individuals recover from pain and injury. MSKPN is a trade association committed to improving quality and enabling musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive. Their latest leadership programme, set to run over 4 days from September, is filling up fast. See more information on MSKPN Leadership Programme 2025    To find out more about our work contact enquiries@mskpn.co.uk.   About MSKPN MSKPN (Musculoskeletal Partners Network) is a trade association committed to improving quality and raising standards, through a collective voice, enabling private musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive. MSK Partners Network – Page home Our purpose • To improve and promote MSK sector standards and support their implementation. • Use a data led approach to educate consumers and commissioners on the economic benefits of engaging with high quality MSK services. • Provide commercial expertise and network support to our members. • Be the voice of independently owned MSK organisations and understand and support the unique challenges that independent private organisations face. ### Accomplished MSK clinician and owner of clinics joins MSKPN Board as Director Musculoskeletal Partners Network (MSKPN) is delighted to announce that Steven Berkman will be joining the Board as a Director from 1 April 2025. As the founder and owner of Boost Physio, a successful, multi-site physiotherapy business with 9 physio clinics and a team of 30 people across London and Hertfordshire, Steven has been an active Tier 1 member of MSKPN for a number of years. Steven Berkman said: “I am delighted to join the Board, having experienced first hand the fantastic spirit of sharing and openness within the group. For 5 years I have had tremendous benefit of being an MSKPN member and I am excited to be able to give back to the organisation and its members. Hearing the perspectives from colleagues and information sharing has been incredibly valuable. The MSKPN network is completely different to others, whether that’s a professional, clinical or business group. MSKPN consists of people with a business hat on, who work within MSK care and I look forward to helping drive forward the clinical and business agenda.” Simon Devane, MSKPN Chair and CEO Pure Sports Medicine added: “On behalf of the Board, I extend our sincere thanks to Steven for stepping into this role. His invaluable contributions as a Tier 1 member over the years have been greatly appreciated, strengthening our commitment to uniting as a strong, collective industry voice.” MSKPN is a trade association committed to improving quality and enabling musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive. Its recent survey highlighted a number of focus areas for 2025 which include strengthening PMI relationships, supporting strategic planning and business growth, data collection, leadership and AI. MSKPN’s members benefit from support in all these areas and more, with a strong and informative webinar schedule, community of action and face to face events. Their latest leadership programme, set to run over 4 days from September, is filling up fast. See more information on MSKPN’s Leadership programme 2025 Read more about Steven Berkman https://www.mskpn.co.uk/our-work/steven-berkman-founder-and-owner-boost-physio/ To find out more about our work contact enquiries@mskpn.co.uk. ### MSKPN Leadership Programme 2025 “When you unlock potential you unlock performance” We are delighted to invite you to sign up for an innovative and unique leadership programme tailored for MSK professionals and leaders. We have asked members what sorts of things we could help with to grow their businesses and you told us you would like advice on managing people, leading teams and a whole range of commercial support aspects for you and your leaders in your business. We listened and acted - Whilst there are other leadership programmes out there, we have worked with leadership expert John Fletcher - former director of rugby and head of England’s Rugby performance pathway - to cover the challenges we all face and develop a course just for MSKPN members. This will be the fourth of these and the feedback to the first three has been outstanding and we’re confident you won’t find a better course out there. Commercially and self-development focused, it spans 4 full days sessions which will be held on Saturday 27th September Saturday 25th October Saturday 22nd November Saturday 13th December This leadership programme has been subsidised for MSKPN members and will be operated on a first come first served basis at a cost of £499. If there is availability, we can accept non-members at the full rate. See our video from previous courses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuTh9ArPsss To enquire, please contact: enquiries@mskpn.co.uk ### A guide to employing a Sport Rehabilitator in Private Practice In partnership with BASRaT (British Association of Sports Rehabilitators) we have produced an excellent guide for those of you interested in employing sports rehab specialists into your practice. Employing Sport Rehabilitators in MSK Private Practice It covers education, insurance, scope of profession, details of the registration exam and a list of frequently asked questions. If you need further support, don’t hesitate to contact BASRaT Registrar, Ollie Coburn o.coburn@basrat.org     ### MSKPN Rewards Blog - Healthcode How Karen streamlined her admin processes with the help of MSKPN, dramatically reducing her debt collection workload “It’s so important to optimise and simplify tasks and workflows. We used to spend huge amounts of admin time chasing down debt. With MSKPN’s help, Healthcode has enabled us to streamline our invoicing processes, increasing efficiency, reducing errors and saving us valuable time and resources.”  Karen Young, partner at SPEAR Physiotherapy in Aberdeen and MSKPN Director What was the problem you needed to solve? We had a part time person chasing debt and inefficient systems. We also underestimated the value of experience. If there was any information missing from an invoice eg a diagnostic code, the big problem was that the PMI wouldn’t let you know and just didn’t pay it. Cash flow is really important and you need to be able to successfully chase your debt. It is easier to track things as a small business, but as you grow, these are the bits that fall off. With some PMIs, you had to wait half an hour to get through on the phone and then you could only speak about 3 invoices at one time. That’s a whole afternoon. Some PMIs can only be contacted by email and reply within 21 days. What did you do? We had previously tried to engage with Healthcode but it was proving difficult and I found it hard to get through. It took a warm introduction from a MSKPN director and now we have a point of contact for MSKPN members. I know that since they introduced Salesforce, a customer relationship management tool in April 2023, the Customer Services team are now contactable in many ways and are much quicker to respond, so you won’t have the same issue. Thank goodness for bigger businesses teaching smaller business how to do things. It has saved us so much money and made us more efficient. How does the Clearing Service from Healthcode work? It ensures all the details are correct before you submit your invoice. You can track everything on the invoice, and you see that if it is green it is being paid and red indicates a problem. What savings have you made? We were spending at least 10 hrs a week chasing debt, probably costing about £120 a week. We spend about £100 a month on Healthcode so we’ve probably saved £4000 a year and only spend 1 hour a week on debt. The person who used to do it has now been redeployed on our support activities that generate income. With the help of MSKPN, we started using Healthcode to streamline our admin and debtor collection, reducing admin time by 40%. Who is Healthcode? Leading provider of IT solutions for the private healthcare sector, including the Clearing Service The Clearing Service is a way to submit invoices directly from your practice management software to PMIs The system checks for any errors and omissions Integrates with TM3 What are the main benefits of using Healthcode to the management of my business? Improved cash flow Invoices go to the right place and are paid quicker Improved billing accuracy More streamlined billing process Reduced number of queries by 90% queries as most issues are sorted before submission Any further benefits? Impact on patients - the business is more sustainable, it’s calmer and a nice place to be Impact on physios - if a smaller business there may not be an admin team so Healthcode takes the admin burden away from the clinical team I‘m so relieved to have been able to streamline our invoicing process. We used to spend huge amounts of admin time chasing down debt. It’s so important to optimise and simplify tasks and workflows. With MSKPN’s help, Healthcode has helped us streamline our invoicing processes, increasing efficiency, reducing errors and saving us valuable time and resources. How can MSKPN help members? Join the MSKPN practice managers group where we aim to ensure we’re operating as effectively as possible with the insurance providers. Share your issues on billing and debt and we can trouble shoot it together. If you can streamline your processes, you can be working on the business as opposed to chasing the tail. karen@spearphysiotherapy.co.uk Download here: Blog - How Karen streamlined her admin processes Healthcode Final 11.7.24 ### Dr Lucy Goldby: Quality Blog May 2024 MSKPN Outcome Data Collection Survey Thank you to everyone who completed our recent survey. As one of our core areas of focus, we want to ensure all members get the support they need in data collection. Survey objectives Our objectives encompassed investigating the activities of members concerning data collection. For those not collecting, we aimed to understand the reasons behind their decision and identify any obstacles. Additionally, we sought to ascertain the accessibility of the collected data; for instance, data merely residing in notes lacks practical utility. Survey results We received 25 responses, that’s about 53% of our membership. All of those using Cemplicity replied and I assume that many of those who live in the non-respondent category don't collect data that can be viewed in a transferable format. Of those who responded and were electronically or manually collecting, the majority were not collecting PASS and GRoC. Member’s survey stats On average across the 5 outcome score questions 30% collect data automatically Collecting electronically ranges from 40% (pain) to 4% (PASS) Manual collection ranges from 28% (pain) to 8% (PASS) Not collecting data ranges from 60% (PASS) to 4% (pain) Therefore Patient Acceptable Symptom Score (PASS) is the least likely to be collected and Numerical Pain Scale (NPS) is the most likely to be collected. Most popular reasons for not collecting are: Time (40%/10 people) Staff challenges (28%/7 people) System limitations (24%/6 people) What I’ve been doing over the last couple of months I’ve established a good dialogue with PhysioFirst so now we are speaking with one voice and our aim is to work with the CSP. We are looking forward to having a meeting to discuss quality in the very near future. It can only be positive, to be collaborative about data. We have the opportunity to discuss collaboration with one of our leading health science Universities. For this to go ahead in a meaningful way I need to know the formats (software, eg excel spread sheet), reliability and regularity of data collections and how much data you have. Can this data be reliability transformed and extrapolated from your system and amalgamated by an MSc. project with others to our mutual benefits? For those of you collecting electronically or manually can you please let me know the information above. I'll then be able to assess if this is progressive. Lucy@balancephysio.com Members I've spoken with individuals and organisations, and everyone has their own questions and deliberations. Each time, together we've been able to push the agenda forwards for their individual organisations. Do get in touch if you'd value a one to one. I’m doing an audit for Cemplicity There is an alert system that we agreed with Cemplicity on the identification of any regression. This triggers the individual therapist analysing the last data collection results and assessing the results with their own records. We are currently analysing the presence of friction in the system in order to make our results more robust. I should be reporting to Cemplicity on these findings, w/c 13 May. We have to demonstrate quality PMIs only look at the number of sessions or cost. That is not representative of quality. So establishing a quality driven/influenced payment system would ultimately be very helpful. Getting to have conversations can only lead to positive benefits. So we need to get as much good quality data as we can, to tell the world that we are managing these conditions well. When selecting a restaurant, you might rely on recommendations from friends or read reviews to make your decision. In today's society, reading reviews is commonplace. Similarly, as patients, we desire the ability to access and review data about a particular clinic. With over 7000 clinics, imagine the impact of presenting our combined data with the CSPs help. It would be a compelling opportunity to showcase our efforts and demonstrate our effectiveness in addressing the various conditions. In the long term, it enables us to benchmark and create a standard for best practice in managing conditions such as lumbar spine issues, ACL injuries, or shoulder reconstructions. This gives us guidelines to show what good looks like in a quality driven way. Next steps We have had some interesting results that inform us of our next steps. It’s very clear we have a large cohort of members who are not collecting or collecting manually. You’ve got to be brave to admit you are not collecting anything and I’d like those collecting manually and electronically to let us know how they are doing it. What we really want to know is if those who are manually and electronically collecting have the data in a transferable and viewable format, or if data remains on notation systems (data remaining in each individual electronic notes without any collation visible to all), or in practice management systems. As I said in my last blog, the profession is at a point where it can no longer ignore measuring quality. I’ve done a lot of work on data collection. I like data as it informs me, and I like to be informed. And remember the Health and Care Professions Council introduced 15 new quality standards in Sept 2023 that we as physios have to abide by. Please get in touch to discuss your needs. Dr Lucy Goldby, MSKPN Quality Lead and Director at Balance Performance Physiotherapy lucy@balancephysio.com Read Lucy’s member’s showcase here: https://mskpn.co.uk/our-work/lucy-goldby-members-showcase/ Download Lucy's blog here: Lucy blog 2 Final 14.5.24 ### Dr Lucy Goldby - Quality Blog April 2024 The profession is at a point where it can no longer ignore measuring quality I am delighted to have taken on the role of quality lead for Musculoskeletal Partners Network (MSKPN). It is crucial to engage in a nationwide discourse on shaping the vision of the MSK profession. Allowing it to be dictated solely by health economics won't be the most effective approach to ensuring a sustainable future for MSK. My business has flourished since joining MSKPN MSKPN is a fantastic trade association, set up to improve quality and raise standards, through a collective voice, enabling private musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive. We joined two days after lockdown and it was like a breath of fresh air. I’ve learnt heaps and it’s very nice to spend time with people with exactly the same challenges as you. It’s incredibly good value for money and no other organisation aimed at small or medium sized enterprises is dedicated to MSK specific business issues. Why did I agree to be Quality Lead? When I was asked, I thought about it for 3 seconds and obviously the answer was yes. I am passionate about quality and have demonstrated significant success in integrating the collection of PROMs and PREMs within my own business. I’m not sure the challenges in these areas are well known and I’m very happy to get back into the arena – it really fires me up. What quality should mean to everyone? I’ve done a lot of work on data collection and RCTs. I like data as it informs me, and I like to be informed. Without having analysis to support my arguments, you may as well just shut up. Importantly, the Health and Care Professions Council introduced 15 new quality standards in Sept 2023 that we as physios have to abide by. Standard 11 is totally about quality. 11.3 states monitor and systematically evaluate the quality of practice, and maintain an effective quality management and quality assurance process working towards continual improvement So all practices have to assure the quality of interventions, measure and use appropriate outcome tools and have them independently verified. It is no longer good enough to use a VAS score at the last appointment and put the answer in notes never to be seen again. External validation is the gold standard. You cannot record your own data. It's like marking your own homework. That has been the biggest change from 2015 to now. Quality as defined by the HCPC means you need to take a quality management approach You have to employ PROMs and PREMs and have them properly analysed. It’s a very costly thing and time consuming. It is so much better to use an organisation such as Cemplicity with their ready made model. Where is MSKPN at? In February 2024, within the MSKPN membership, there are 7 organisations representing 32 clinics, involving 220 physios using Cemplicity. That’s reflective of 27% of MSKPN membership. That’s up from 2 organisations 6 months ago. Many others are thinking about it. My advice on collecting data When you first look at your data, please don’t panic. It always starts low. Remember this is the gold standard and it is unbiased. Even with the smallest uplift, this gives you incredibly valuable feedback. If you have assessed someone and decided it will go one of two ways, the outcome maybe to refer on. There is a national referral-on rate of 13%. So within our data there will be a number of people who have been brilliantly assessed, treated and referred on. So approximately one in ten will record a negative, but they may have been correctly assessed and appropriately referred. You may get a great GROC score from these clients but the other scores correctly represent a clinically static or worsening condition. We will continuously evolve so that our data collection produces meaningful data I would really congratulate those who have started collecting data, the challenges they have overcome and the challenges they will continue to face. I would encourage everyone to look at this as a way of collecting PREMs and PROMs and to do it through MSKPN because we are set up to deal with it and support you on the journey. Building the MSK data pot Everyone was doing it individually before joining MSKPN. Now we have agreed on outcome tools and data collection methods and the bigger the data pot the better, allowing the sector to evidence their work. You have to get the data monkey off your back I understand there are challenges financially and it’s labour intensive. Every single clinic is on a different practice management system. So my task is sizable - how are we going to overcome these hurdles. There is a lot of groundwork to be done. But the bottom line is you have to do it. If you don’t do data collection, you will see the demise of certain aspects of physio The system needs a shake up! My feeling has always been that the back is full of muscles and people are not taught to work those muscles. Sadly, people with MSK conditions are far more likely to be given a prescription of opioids than they are to be referred for physiotherapy. In the 80s, 90% of physios worked in the NHS and private physios generally worked from their living room rather than a dedicated clinic. The average number of appointments was around 7. Now in the NHS patients are invariably given 3 sessions - one to assess, one to treat, one to discharge. These decisions have been made purely for economic reasons. We now have around 42% of physios employed by the NHS with over 7000 private clinics around the country. HCPC is set up to explore individuals not companies Inevitably some MSK companies will not be run by physios. That means the CSP and HCPC cannot influence the owners. Nonetheless, their physios will be expected to comply to a set of rules. Professionally I am indited if considered to be negligent in my role if my practice has not been properly evaluated. The previous standards were set in 2015. The conversation at the time around quality was that you had to recognise it. Now you have to do it and there needs to be national recognition for this. My vision as MSKPN Quality lead There has to be a recognition that measuring quality is seen as a cost at a national level. My aim is to assist MSK practices in understanding the importance of data collection for their business. Neglecting this aspect might lead to the decline of certain facets of physiotherapy. I envision a shift in perception, where the measurement of quality is regarded as an essential expense, akin to rent, rates, and staffing. This perspective shift allows us to view data collection as a positive tool for enhancing interventions rather than a barrier to overcome. I’m hoping to share my experience with members For example, the penny dropped with some of our senior physios when we demonstrated that over 12 months, the mean improvement for an ACL is 4.8% on a recognised PROMs scale – well above the national average of 3.4%. Commercial aspects and working with Cemplicity are very important I see myself as someone who can support with helping members to start addressing the challenges. I’d encourage everyone to think positively about how it can change interventions rather than seeing it as a hurdle. Next steps Finding out what people are doing and understanding what is going on nationally, if anything, is really important. I’ll be working with Cemplicity to develop the MSKPN member platform on behalf of members in order to grow the depth of the data and allow members to see data collection as a benefit for their businesses. I’ve had quite a few members reach out to me already regarding the issues around data collection and I’m very happy for anyone to get in touch. Dr Lucy Goldby, MSKPN Quality Lead and Director at Balance Performance Physiotherapy lucy@balancephysio.com Read Lucy’s member’s showcase here: https://mskpn.co.uk/our-work/lucy-goldby-members-showcase/ Download Lucy's blog here: Lucy Blog 1 v2 ### Pioneering expert in back pain takes on MSKPN Quality Lead mantle Dr Lucy Goldby PhD MCSP, Consultant Spinal Physiotherapist and Director at Balance Performance Physiotherapy, has been appointed Quality Lead at Musculoskeletal Partners Network (MSKPN) from 1 March 2024. MSKPN is a trade association committed to improving quality and enabling musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive. As a voice for the industry, MSKPN is committed to collecting a standardised data set of outcomes and experience. Lucy possesses a wealth of expertise spanning more than 35 years in the field of clinical spinal disorders and is a renowned researcher and specialist in back pain. She established Balance Performance Physiotherapy in 2001, creating a large space to further explore spinal and sports rehabilitation and today, Balance remains London's largest independent multi-disciplinary rehabilitation centre, servicing over 25,000 clients a year. On taking up the role, Lucy said: “I joined MSKPN during lockdown and it was like a breath of fresh air. My passion for quality has led to significant success in integrating the collection of PROMs and PREMs within my own business. So I am delighted to take on the Quality Lead role and aspire to assist practices in recognising the importance of data collection for their business. Neglecting this aspect may result in the decline of certain aspects of physiotherapy. I envisage a shift in perspective, where measuring quality is seen as an essential expense, akin to rent, rates, and staffing. This shift allows us to perceive data collection as a positive tool for enhancing interventions rather than a hurdle to overcome, benefiting the entire profession." Lucy takes over the baton from Claire Small, Chief Clinical Officer of Pure Sports Medicine, who has played a pivotal role in formulating the quality framework and operationalising the outcome standards, working with Cemplicity to develop a MSKPN member platform. Simon Devane, MSKPN Chair and CEO Pure Sports Medicine added: “One of the consistent pillars of MSKPN has been the focus on quality and the drive to embed a common set of industry agreed standards. I would like to thank both Claire and Lucy for taking on these leadership responsibilities, aimed at elevating standards within our sector.” The Health and Care Professions Council introduced 15 new quality standards in Sept 2023 that all physiotherapists have to abide by. Standard 11 is entitled "Assure the quality of practice" and includes 8 subsections detailing how physiotherapists must measure and assure the quality of their work.  Lucy believes that it's essential that all MSKPN members understand how the HCPC expects us to embrace and uphold quality within our work. Lucy has embraced in house research projects and multiple audits, therefore understanding the difficulties associated with data collection and analysis. It’s very easy for clinicians and leaders to want to wait, as to do this properly isn’t easy. She will help members work through the new standards and be a key point of contact. MSKPN will continuously evolve this work, so that consolidated data collection produces meaningful data for the profession. To find out more about our work contact enquiries@mskpn.co.uk. Read more about Lucy here: Dr Lucy Goldby members showcase About MSKPN MSKPN (Musculoskeletal Partners Network) is a trade association committed to improving quality and raising standards, through a collective voice, enabling private musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive. https://mskpn.co.uk/ Our purpose To improve and promote MSK sector standards and support their implementation. Use a data led approach to educate consumers and commissioners on the economic benefits of engaging with high quality MSK services. Provide commercial expertise and network support to our members. Be the voice of independently owned MSK organisations and understand and support the unique challenges that independent private organisations face.   ### Lucy Goldby: Members Showcase Dr Lucy Goldby PhD MCSP, Consultant Spinal Physiotherapist and Director at Balance Performance Physiotherapy, delves into the tapestry of her professional journey and talks about the reasons that led her to take on the Quality Lead mantle for MSKPN. “My business has been far more commercial and profitable since joining MSKPN.” A career researching and managing spinal pain Having completed numerous research projects and my PhD, I established Balance Performance Physiotherapy in 2001 and it remains London's largest independent multi-disciplinary rehabilitation centre, serving over 25k clients pa. I have fully embraced in house research projects and multiple audits I understand the difficulties associated with data collection and analysis and have been delighted to have the burden eased by working with Cemplicity. It’s very easy for clinicians and leaders to want to wait, as to do this properly isn’t easy. Patients and team members have to be galvanised to make it work. I am delighted to take on the role of Quality Lead The profession is at a point where it can no longer ignore measuring quality and it is crucial to engage in a nationwide discourse on shaping the vision of the MSK profession. I became a member of MSKPN during lockdown I was driving to work on 25 March 2020, two days after lockdown and realised there’s no way we can shut. We had a lot of medically well but orthopaedically unwell people. All the hospitals were shutting their doors and patients who were expecting and needing to do their rehab had nowhere to go. We couldn’t shut for them. MSKPN was like a breath of fresh air As soon as I joined, I learnt everything I needed to know - I didn’t have to ask, the MSKPN forums told me. I’ve enjoyed the networking, the chat rooms and I have completed the fantastic leadership course. I’ve learnt heaps and it’s very nice to spend time with people with exactly the same challenges as you. Everyone learns all of the time Physios are very good at helping each other. It’s really like having an MBA without doing the work. Everyone is good enough to share their strategies for overcoming issues. Top 4 benefits of being part of MSKPN Knowledge base – if you have any business question, you’ve got 50 years’ experience from up and down the country, coming back at you in no time. It may be a question about a practice management system, a new card machine, a new process for any aspect of your business, right down to does anyone know a physio in Hartlepool. The leadership course – I’d advise anyone to do it. It was fantastic to learn how to be a leader rather than a good manager. Making someone’s back better doesn’t mean colleagues should respect you and do as you say. Commercial recognition– physios are not taught to be commercial they are taught to care. Unashamedly we need to be able to recognise the importance of profit. Teaching me to network - I was very slow at networking. It’s taught me the value of networking, building personal relationships and making time for business. Physios are not trained in business matters My academic work has primarily focused on enhancing my skills as a therapist rather than developing leadership or business acumen. I’m very grateful to MSKPN for acknowledging the importance of these aspects in our field. Whether you're an independent practitioner, run a single clinic, or manage multiple clinics, there's an opportunity to join. It's a fantastic organisation to be a part of.  My business has flourished since joining MSKPN With other organisations, you have to pay as an individual clinician and as a very large clinic, this was not economically viable. Data collection tools weren’t geared up for us and we didn’t get what we needed.  It’s incredibly good value for money I encourage other practices to have a look at website. Check out the other members and the types of webinars we’ve ran and the quality of the people who have spoken. No other organisation aimed at small or medium sized enterprises is dedicated to physio specific business issues. Read more about Lucy’s career and progress to date … During my school days, I was an artistic child, often immersed in the pages of a book Despite being a reluctant scientist, initially struggling at physio school, my involvement in Nottingham University drama society provided a motivating force. Although having to retake my first year, it was when I started work on the wards and engaged with people, that I discovered a genuine passion for the field. In my third year, I worked at the Harlow Wood Orthopaedic Centre in Mansfield Many individuals at the centre greatly inspired me. In the 80s, gaining access to a Post Graduate Medical Centre as a physiotherapy student was unheard of, but at Harlow Wood it was encouraged. It was the first time I read Spine and the fantastic work and research just blew me away. I knew then that all I really wanted to do in physiotherapy was to focus my work on, and research into, low back pain. Later, I was lucky to be funded by the research arm of the NHS and did my PhD in Brighton. I spent years researching the best treatment for lower back pain management The government had placed back pain at the top of their agenda and it was a very exciting time. Based at St George’s, our results were very well received and further funding was allocated. I then, with a team of teachers, taught others throughout the UK to implement the programme. With a top statistician on the team, it was 7 years of very hard work, however with children coming along, it was impossible to maintain that level of intensity. Balance was set up in 2001 We set up Balance Performance Physiotherapy with a 7000 square foot space dedicated to rehabilitation and developed a team capable and determined to get patients moving. Now an integrative team of 30, located in Clapham North, London, we focus on sports injury, back pain, children, women’s health, emerging athletes, strength, conditioning, nutrition, habits for health wellness & resilience. Our primary objective has consistently been to excel in the realm of rehabilitation Founded originally with Graham Anderson (still Chief Physiotherapist to the All England Club and ATP tour physiotherapist) and Jonathan Lewis (end stage rehabilitation and strength and conditioning coach), whilst both remain jobbing physios at Balance, Lucy is the only shareholding director and is in sole charge, juggling clinical work with running the business. Our clients enjoy complimentary access to classes and gym facilities, and we support individuals across the entire spectrum of life, incorporating the armchair to the elite athlete, ensuring comprehensive care from cradle to grave.   Learn more at https://mskpn.co.uk Download Lucy's showcase here: Dr Lucy Goldby members showcase ### Amy Gasson: Members Showcase Amy Gasson, founder and director of Mint Wellbeing is a Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist with over 14 years' experience working in the NHS and private sector. Here she tells us about her career to date and the importance of joining MSKPN. "MSKPN has been a lifesaver." I love that the job is always changing, no day is the same I always knew I wanted to set up a business and after 7 years working in the NHS I founded Mint Wellbeing. I thrive when faced with a challenge and love to see the development of our practice, encompassing a strong emphasis on our internal staff culture, the patients' experience and high quality care from experienced clinicians. I became a MSKPN member in the early months of Covid I was told about MSKPN through a friend. It really was a lifeline, helping me navigate all those uncertain Covid months. Everyone is in it together We soon came to realise that no one knew what was going on and every day the legislation seemed to be changing. The comradery in MSKPN is lovely The support that everyone gives you is amazing. There is the WhatsApp group which is very useful but I have had plenty of 1:1 calls/messages with other business owners either giving them advice from my experiences or seeking their advice to help me with a problem I might be facing. This to me is invaluable. As a growing business it provides support in many areas One of our greatest needs is trying to get some acknowledgement from the big insurance companies that we’ve not even had an inflationary based fee rise for 6 years let alone a fee rise which matches current self-fund rates. Costs are rising across the board in so many areas. This is becoming the most depressing area of running a business but MSKPN is fighting our corner. Data collection is a pressing need for us too MSK data collection is a key focus for us going into 2024. As a small business, the cost associated with this remains a concern but collaborating with other MSKPN members to learn from their experiences is vital to help guide us. Top 3 benefits of being part of MSKPN Comradery and support Understanding where the market is Knowing that we are all in a very similar position The business support and webinar series are fantastic. My advice to other practice owners is to join. It’s a wonderful organisation and I would recommend MSKPN - why wouldn’t you! Read more about Amy’s early career and progress to date … At school I couldn’t imagine life in an office I opted to study physiotherapy, gaining my BSc in 2009 from the University of Southampton. After completing my junior rotations at Solent NHS trust I gained senior positions at some of London's leading hospitals including the prestigious Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (St Mary's and Charing Cross Hospitals). I completed my masters in 2014 I returned to university to complete an MSc in Advanced Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy with MACP accreditation at King's College London, passing with distinction. I used data from the Shoulder Instability service at Stanmore to inform my master’s dissertation. Following this I gained a team leader position at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Shoulders are my key area of clinicial interest I have gained extensive knowledge in the management of complex MSK, sports injuries, shoulder rehabilitation including recurrent shoulder instability, elective and trauma orthopaedic surgery rehabilitation and pain management. I’m a very determined person I wasn’t very good at school sports as they all required you to be hitting or throwing balls around! However, at university I found that I was really good at endurance sports, joining the senior rowing team and after uni taking part in marathons, ultra marathons and triathlons. One of my biggest life achievements was coming 2nd in the Jungle Ultra Marathon. In 2014 I ran a 275km race over 7 days in the Amazon jungle. Despite the overall fitness of those around me, success was largely attributed to a positive attitude, grit and determination, qualities that have proven invaluable in managing my business. I set up my own private practice, Mint Wellbeing in 2016 I reached a point in my career where I had to decide between moving into advanced NHS clinical roles or venturing into a new domain. Having always aspired to set up and run a business this was the route I took and started Mint on my own in June 2016. I was locuming part time whilst building my business up from scratch After part time room rentals I took on a full time space in a Gym in Wimbledon in 2018. In 2021, through mutual friends, I formed a partnership with Joint Dynamics. In 2022 this enabled investment into a large 6 room clinic with a big rehab gym space. We now have 7 full and parttime physios, 2 part-time strength and conditioning coaches, a massage and Pilates instructor and a four-strong part-time admin/manager team. I’m proud of the reputation we’ve built with local consultants and the community We have a large word of mouth referral base which is testament to the care and experience we provide. Additionally, consultants often send patients to us for a second opinion. All of this is whilst managing a very young family! As a female business owner it can be hard to juggle everything. I have a 3 year old and a 3 month old and it is due to my fantastic team as well as having strong processes and systems in place that I am currently managing to take a few months of maternity leave (ish!). Learn more at https://mskpn.co.uk Download Amy's showcase here: Amy Gasson Members showcase ### MSKPN showcase success at Therapy Expo Reflecting on their inaugural major event featuring keynote sessions and a stand, MSKPN shares insights into the factors contributing to its success, highlights of the discussions, and the valuable lessons gained. MSKPN showcase success at Therapy Expo We’ve just come back from two days at the MSK Conference at Birmingham NEC, running alongside Therapy Expo on 23-23 November 2023. It was a busy time with two keynote sessions, lots of networking and meeting up with friends old and new. MSKPN (Musculoskeletal Partners Network) is a trade association committed to improving quality and raising standards, through a collective voice, enabling private musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive. We run an exciting programme which involves implementing outcomes measures to demonstrate the valuable and innovative work independent MSK practitioners are delivering. Photo l-r: Nicola Graham, Natasha Price, Claire Small, Lucy Goldby, Simon Lack Discovering the real value of MSK healthcare In our first session “Innovation - how can curiosity unlock value”, Nicola Graham, MSKPN Board Director and MD of Tops Health, discussed why curiosity can assist strategically in relation to innovation and performance in organisations. She was joined by MSKPN members, Simon Lack of Pure Sports Medicine and Lucy Goldby of Balance Physio. Lucy challenged the audience to think about collecting data, explaining it is not as complicated as people make out. Simon went on to explain his journey reflecting on the difficulties in getting going and how they overcame those challenges. Both discussed what the data is actually telling them and how they are implementing it within their organisations. Next Peter Watson of First Contact Health talked about how, having helped drive the changes in the Optical and Veterinary marketplace for over 35 years, he recognised and anticipated similar developments in the MSK industry. He describes what MSK healthcare needs to do to prove its value, looking at lessons from other industries. Multi-disciplinary working Session 2 began by looking at “Lessons from the Coalface”. Claire Small, Chief Clinical Officer of Pure Sports Medicine and Chair of the MSKPN Quality Committee explained it’s easy to talk about MDTs but making it work in practice is a lot harder. You’ve got to get everyone to buy into the vision and beat the hierarchy whilst recognising everyone has their super powers. Attitude is what matters, not aptitude. We then heard from Natasha Price, MSKPN Board Director and MD of Central Health, who discussed views on working in a customer service industry, asking how clinicians working in MSK healthcare balance giving patients what they want with delivering evidence informed care. Business models and growth Before our second day, we carried out 2 polls on X and Linked in, asking you to help us pick the right topics to debate in our Q&A. Do you want help with workforce or working practices? Or is it business growth or using AI that floats your boat? The results were unanimous across both platforms – Business models and growth came top, followed by Data/AI and workforce/skills mix. Key messages considered: where is physiotherapy going, is it sustainable and affordable in its current state and what do we have to do to change it? Is high street physio the future? There was a consensus that we don’t generate enough income to be sustainable and training can be a challenge. What does the business model need to look like to provide a strong complementary service to the NHS? The skillset needed for business growth was debated and whether or not other high street models such as vets, pharmacists and opticians are better equipped. To finish, we asked - Is there room for boutique physiotherapy? We thank you for helping us shape our agenda for our final panel discussion involving several MSKPN members. The discussion was wide and deep with lots of food for thought on sustainability, profitability, collaboration, the future of MSK care, low value vs high value care and raising each other up. A-E benefits of MSKPN membership Finally, we must not forget Karen Young, Board Director of MSKPN and Co-founder Spear Physiotherapy, who skillfully managed the stand throughout, elevating the conference theme "Working Together” by engaging multiple audiences in discussions about the advantages of being part of the MSKPN community: A - Advice B - Business mentors C - Community D - Data E - Experts Poster Competition success We must also congratulate Nicola Graham on winning the Poster competition. Her poster entitled “Leadership and performance management in independent MSK organisations: a qualitative study” was chosen by the judges because it was an innovative topic in the MSK space. The specific research question addressed was - What are the beliefs and practices of business leaders within independent MSK clinics in relation to leadership and performance management? So why was the event a success and what did we learn? The MSK Show felt like it was the first step towards changing the conversation about where physiotherapy is going. It stimulated lots of thoughts and discussions for physio owners and was a really great forum to meet a lot of people. We’re proud of what MSKPN has achieved, having developed an engaging and interactive community of business owners. We have also negotiated a range of exclusive member discounts to deliver commercial benefit and enable businesses to thrive. We want to work and collaborate with more organisations in MSK. Contact us today https://mskpn.co.uk/our-members/   ### Simon Devane: Members Showcase Simon Devane, CEO Pure Sports Medicine ‘PSM’ and founding Director of MSKPN, tells us about his unconventional root into physio, moving from a career in commercial forestry in New Zealand to being the CEO of PSM. We also discover his enthusiasm for the advantages that MSKPN offers to its members. “If you’re focused on growing your business and being a high-quality provider, you should be a member of MSKPN.” Following a career in commercial forestry and major infrastructure projects with expertise in operations and leadership, I coincidentally shared a flat with Andrew Willett, the founder of Pure Sports Medicine. I joined the business in 2007 and haven’t looked back. MSKPN is a unique forum As a business owner there’s no other place where you can get the bespoke support we offer. We tackle not only commercial issues that relate to growth and development but equally the development of a high quality service. I am a co-founder of MSKPN It started with an introduction to the fellow founding directors. Our aim was to connect with businesses in our sector that held comparable goals and aspirations and faced similar challenges. The idea of creating a gold standard for quality and defining what good looks like, took shape. Our plan was to raise the bar from the perspectives of patients, providers, and services. We believed that by rallying providers around this call to action, we could instigate changes and shape patient expectations. This remains a significant focus 5 years later. It’s hard work from an MSKPN director perspective We give our time freely and are all quite involved. We collectively try to generate change in our sector and deliver greater benefits to members. The continual challenge is how do we engage our members We have a large number of loyal members who we know we do a good job for. The goal now is to grow our membership base. More members will give us the ability to do more and invest in areas where we can make more of a difference. There are many benefits of membership As a member you have access to a wealth of knowledge. Individuals seeking to expand their businesses often have numerous questions, and utilising the member base as a sounding board for troubleshooting is incredibly useful. We support members by instilling the confidence that they are not navigating those challenges alone. MSKPN WORK Collective voice - a sector wide collective voice has enabled MSKPN to have a stronger conversation with software providers and insurers. Raising standards - We have galvanised like-minded businesses to aspire to the same quality standards. Software Providers - Successful engagement in considering our concerns particularly around the collection of outcomes and reporting. Insurance - Managed to get some key quality metrics into service agreements with the view that they will be mandated. Commissioning - Starting the conversation around changing the structure around the services commissioned, moving away from price per appointment to one based on outcomes and value. Agile and nimble – We are quickly able to respond to the needs of the members, eg workforce, cost of living concerns. Read more about Simon’s early career and progress to date … Science has always been a passion of mine I was born and raised in New Zealand. Coming from a non-clinical background, my root into MSK has been through a business/commercial perspective. At university I did a double science degree in microbiology and forestry science. Taking a family member’s advice, I opted to work in the commercial forestry sector, which was exciting with plenty going on. I soon became used to managing large contracts and teams across a large geographic area, a role I held for 5 years. In 2002 I left New Zealand and travelled around Europe The visa restrictions meant I had to arrive in the UK before I turned 28. My goals were to travel, play rugby and work in the City to fund the travel. I played rugby at competitive semi-professional level, playing for London Scottish between 2002 and 2008. Arriving in London I had a number of transferrable skills I worked in rail engineering which involved managing contracts for Network Rail and moved on to work for BP and later BT working on multiple projects, working directly with the CFO. My entry into healthcare was through Pure Sports Medicine I happened to share a flat with Andrew Willett, the founder PSM. In 2001, Andrew, an ex-professional rugby player from Australia, was studying for an MBA and playing rugby for the University of Oxford when he snapped his Achilles tendon. He was unable to access the support he would have received in Australia, through the UK’s publicly provided system. No one could definitively guide him as to whom he should see or where he should go. The concept of a specialist sports medicine centre was born and PSM opened its doors to see patients in 2003. PSM is now the leading provider Andrew asked if I would join him to run the operational aspects, and having played a lot of sport, I felt I had an understanding of sports medicine. Joining as Operations Manager in March 2007, I later progressed to the role of COO, where I served for 6 ½ years. Subsequently, I transitioned to the role of Managing Director, eventually becoming the CEO in January 2015. PSM is now the UK’s leading private provider of musculoskeletal, sport and exercise medicine. We are a unique team of sport, exercise and MSK medicine specialists Dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and musculoskeletal problems, we are a team of over 160 staff. I got to see the business evolve from an idea into an entity. And I love my work because it’s a people business. The SEM model didn’t exist in the UK and trying to educate the market was difficult We were breaking new ground and brought in sport and exercise medicine consultants from Australia before the faculty of SEM was even thought about. You’re educating patients, referrers, insurers, GP’s and surgeons as to why you’re different. The biggest challenge was making sure people understood what our unique selling point was and how we could help. We built an infrastructure from scratch As the business grows it develops different needs. There isn’t really a blueprint for how to plan 10 years ahead. I was keen on planning for growth, staying agile and not being hamstrung by bespoke software products. We are now a fully cloud-based business with a well developed central business team across operations, marketing, finance and people. Learn more at https://mskpn.co.uk Download Simon's showcase here: Simon Devane members showcase final   ### Discovering the real value of MSK healthcare – MSKPN’s thrilling initiative showcased at Therapy Expo EXCLUSIVE SHOW OFFER - Free mentorship session if you sign up to MSKPN today* MSKPN (Musculoskeletal Partners Network) is proud to deliver two keynote sessions at the MSK Conference at Birmingham NEC that runs alongside Therapy Expo on 23-23 November 2023. Claire Small, Chair of the MSKPN Quality Committee said: “MSKPN’s exciting programme focusses on raising standards, implementing outcome measures and demonstrating the valuable and innovative work that independent MSK practitioners are delivering.” In session 1 entitled Proving Our Value (22 Nov 14.15-15.45), Nicola Graham, MSKPN Board Director and MD of Tops Health, will debate why proving value is essential in both the NHS and Independent sectors. Then MSKPN members, Simon Lack of Pure Sports Medicine and Lucy Goldby of Balance Physio will discuss the MSKPN outcomes project. This will be followed by Peter Watson of First Contact Physio who will talk about how, having helped drive the changes in the Optical and Veterinary marketplace for over 35 years, he recognised and anticipated similar developments in the MSK industry. He describes what MSK healthcare needs to do to prove its value, looking at lessons from other industries. In session 2 we look at Lessons from the Coalface - what can we learn from independent practitioners (23 Nov 10.30-12.00). Claire Small, Chief Clinical Officer of Pure Sports Medicine      and Chair of the MSKPN Quality Committee will explore her 20 years of experience working in an MDT setting. We will then hear from Natasha Price, MSKPN Board Director and MD of Central Health, and another MSKPN member, who will take us through their views on working in a customer service industry, asking how clinicians working in MSK healthcare balance giving patients what they want with delivering evidence informed care. This will be followed by a panel discussion involving several MSKPN members covering current topics around delivering high value and financially sound care. Simon Devane, MSKPN Chair and CEO Pure Sports Medicine added: “During these challenging economic times, whatever the size of your organisation, our combined commercial know how, experience and informal peer mentorship can uniquely support you and your business. We’re proud to have developed an engaging and interactive community of business owners and negotiated a range of exclusive member discounts to deliver commercial benefit and enable businesses to thrive”. MSKPN is pleased to be joined on the stand by Cemplicity, a leading Patient-Reported Measures (PRM) company, who will discuss the power of automating patient outcomes and their work with MSKPN on establishing a group PRM system. Validated measures can provide clinicians with deeper insights into the quality of their practice, and payers with an objective marker of effective outcomes. Come and see us at our stand TF49, just near the poster zone and MSK keynote theatre where you can speak to MSKPN Board Directors and members and find out more about the benefits of joining MSKPN. Alternatively email us on enquiries@mskpn.co.uk The full programme can be found here https://www.therapyexpo.co.uk/msk-conference Read our latest blog by Claire Small, Quality lead at MSKPN here *EXCLUSIVE SHOW OFFER - Sign up today and benefit from a FREE mentorship session with a MSKPN board member. To qualify for the FREE mentorship session, the membership fee must be settled by 30.11.23. https://mskpn.co.uk/mskshow/   ### Colin Lewin Members Showcase Colin Lewin, physiotherapist and co-founder of The Lewin Sports Injury Clinic talks about moving from elite sport to setting up his own clinic and how MSKPN is helping his business. “Access to experienced physio business owners is priceless.” My co-founder Gary Lewin and I originated from the world of elite sports and were aware that the availability of quality private sector physiotherapy for sports injuries was severely lacking in our area. So we set up The Lewin Sports Injury Clinic in 2019. We joined MSKPN in 2022 We found out about MSKPN through social media and thought that the group chat function and webinars would be really helpful. Top 4 benefits of being part of MSKPN Experienced business owners who are all willing to help - Here we know the vast majority of members know far more than us about this sector. Not on our own -  We can’t do it on our own so having those huge businesses on our side is just what we need. Regular webinars - We’ve seen a lot of the webinars and the BUPA updates were really helpful. Sense of community - It’s a nice group of kind, well-mannered people who are well thought of. MSKPN is unselfish - everyone wants to help each other We joined after realising we know the elite sports injury world very well, but we didn’t know this sector at all. A member might ask - I need a physio in Bristol, can you help? Then you know if you’ve helped them out, they’ll help me out. We’ve had lots of advice around PMIs. People are so generous with their time and we’d always do the same for them. As a growing business, MSKPN is giving me everyone else’s experience, as well as learning from everyone else’s mistakes Aware that in the first year we’ve been incredibly naïve and made many mistakes, it was great to learn that MSKPN is not competitive at all. Even if it’s someone down the road, I know that everyone is there to help each other. It’s more about how we all can get better together. The advice on PMIs is invaluable We’ve benefitted from advice around re-negotiations with the PMIs. Payment has been difficult and I know we need standards and statistics to back us up. The advice really helped and answers to my long list of questions came freely. Some contracts were very complicated so just to have a conversation around how to deal with it and contact emails was vital. My advice would be to try it for a year at a tier you feel comfortable with - it’s excellent value for money To join the lowest tier is only a few hundred pounds a year and you are going to get a lot more back in advice. That’s before you even think about the discounts and the webinars. Read more about Colin’s early career and progress to date … What inspired you to be a MSK clinician At school I had little idea what I wanted to do. My cousin Gary was a physio at the time working for Arsenal FC so I focused my A levels on that and studied physiotherapy at the University of Brighton. I worked at Arsenal FC for 23 years I liked the atmosphere in a hospital environment but I had the opportunity to work with youth and reserve teams at Arsenal. I’d planned to do a year or 2 but within my first 2 seasons, a new manager arrived. Shortly after that we won the League and the Cup and during that time, I was promoted to the first team. In 2008, my cousin then became England lead physio and I was promoted to head of medical at Arsenal. In 2019 we set up the Lewin Sports Injury Clinic We decided to set up our own clinic in East London/Essex alongside. The timing was unfortunate being 6 months before Covid, but we identified a need in the area with such a big population density of good, young athletes with grass roots rugby, hockey, cricket, football, athletics and 3 private schools. Elite level athlete rehab for everyone So we set up our clinic with a 1000 sq foot gym, 4 treatment rooms and reception area. Our idea was to set up a rehab/physio clinic offering elite level athlete rehab for everyone. I love the unpredictability of my work Having my own clinic is very different from working 23 seasons in elite sport. I loved the pressure and privilege of having to make big decisions with a massive match every 4 days. In this clinic environment, I love that no patient is ever the same and I’m solving problems whether it be from an elite level footballer, hockey player, heavyweight boxing champion or someone with debilitating arthritis or an 80 year old lady with knee issues. We’re working very hard to grow the business We were able to do what we wanted with the building and so opted for big airy rooms, a full gym and placed football shirts on the walls as it gets people interested in the story behind the place. It was important to involve a range of specialties too, including massage therapists and in the future, sports medicine consultants and strength and conditioning coaches. Learn more at https://mskpn.co.uk https://www.lewinclinic.co.uk/ Click here to download:  Colin Lewin members showcase final ### Webinar Recording: Pelvic Floor Function & Disfunction with Dr Jenny Kruger JUNOFEM A recording of the presentation given by Jenny Kruger from JUNOFEM, at Pure Sports Medicine on Thursday September 14th is now available on the MSK PN website. In the presentation, Jenny talks about the prevalence of pelvic symptoms in women and men of all ages, the reasons for this and the evidence around effective management. She also talks about the femfit device - a vaginal pressure monitoring and biofeedback that has been shown  in research (RCTs) to be highly effective in improving the signs and symptoms of pelvic dysfunction. We hope to organise a formal webinar with Jenny next year. If you have any questions, Claire Small from Pure Sports Medicine, would be very happy to answer them. Please email claire.small@puresportsmed,com View the recording here: https://puresportsmed-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/p/nathalie_smith/EQXxjkhmrtJOqva0PGf6GLQBGRuBDGb9XH4VE1_Z9FxnjQ?e=1joeOD&nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJTdHJlYW1XZWJBcHAiLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJTaGFyZURpYWxvZyIsInJlZmVycmFsQXBwUGxhdGZvcm0iOiJXZWIiLCJyZWZlcnJhbE1vZGUiOiJ2aWV3In19 The password to view is:   PureSportsMed2023 ### MSK Conference Blog   MSK Conference – special 5% MSKPN member’s discount   The MSK world is coming together with Therapy Expo, an educational, business and networking platform dedicated to professionals in the therapy field.   This comprehensive two-day programme is crafted to accommodate a diverse spectrum of MSK clinicians, spanning various experience levels and specialties.   We’ve been invited to deliver 2 breakout sessions at the MSK Conference (22-23 November at Birmingham NEC) that runs alongside Therapy Expo.   Our programme focusses on raising standards, implementing outcome measures and demonstrating the valuable and innovative work that independent practitioners are delivering. We’ll talk about the benefits of working collaboratively both in an MDT environment but also sharing knowledge and ideas with other practitioners.   Come and see us at our stand TF49.   As a conference partner, MSKPN members are entitled to an additional 5% discount. Please use this registration form: https://www.therapyexpo.co.uk/mskpn and enter the code (email us if you haven’t got it)   View the full programme here https://www.therapyexpo.co.uk/msk-conference   We would love to see you there and buy you a coffee! Let us know on enquiries@mskpn.co.uk     ### Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness week and the importance of quality and data Read our latest blog by Claire Small, Quality lead at MSKPN and Chief Clinical Officer of Pure Sports Medicine. With a strong focus on providing the general public with “best in field” care, using the same model that operates in elite sport, Claire has been a physiotherapist for over 30 years. In this blog she draws attention to Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness week and tells us about the importance of quality and data. RA Awareness Week holds significant importance because musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are often overlooked in our awareness efforts. While we frequently discuss diseases like cancer and diabetes, we tend to neglect the substantial influence that MSK disorders can exert on one's quality of life and their capacity to lead a fulfilling life. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Awareness Week 12-17 Sept 2023 This week is RA Awareness Week, an annual event to raise awareness of the condition and the impact on sufferers and their families. The event is run by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) who state that it can affect anyone at any age and currently affects more than 400,000 people in the UK. It’s not just about the years in your life, it’s about the life in your years This year’s theme is #RADrain. RA is associated with systemic inflammatory changes. Whilst not life threatening it affects your quality of life and ability to make a valuable contribution to the life that you want to lead. All aspects of a person’s life are impacted, not just joints and muscles and this theme demonstrates how day-to-day activities can drain your battery, leaving you unable to continue the day ahead due to pain, fatigue, immobility, and reduced dexterity. Those with chronic MSK conditions have over 3 times the odds of reporting poor health The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) report on understanding the drivers of healthy life expectancy states that MSK has the third-largest influence on self-reported health (behind nervous system and tumours), but when combined with prevalence, it has significantly the biggest contribution to healthy life expectancy. Remember a third of the UK population, over 20 million people live with an MSK condition. How does the quality agenda at MSKPN help? One of the biggest challenges for people seeking support is understanding what good quality care looks like and what should be expected when visiting a physio or Sports and Exercise Medicine doctor. Here at MSKPN, our aim is to raise the whole standard of care across the industry, not just enabling the public to understand best practice, but also other organisations to gauge where they sit related to other groups. You know what a 5-star hotel is and what to expect. How do you know what a 5-star MSK clinic looks like and how do you find one? We want to demonstrate our effectiveness as a sector and provide that information in a similar way to how other industries disclose their performance ratings. Especially with things like RA, people live with these conditions for a number of years before they are diagnosed. We are collecting outcome measures of effectiveness MSKPN as a body, has committed to collecting a standardised data set of outcomes and people‘s experience. We have some initial foundation partners who are already committed to collecting the data. We will start to build on this and gather a groundswell of information and then collate it, to measure ourselves around the industry average.   MSKPN is working with Cemplicity who have produced a product specifically for members to collect this data. I’d like to think by the end of the year, we have at least a good three months of data to form our baseline. Working together we make everyone better It’s only possible to achieve higher standards if we work together. MSK healthcare has been very fragmented which is not good for patients or practitioners. Coming together and working collaboratively under MSKPN is what will allow us to achieve these goals and objectives. Good healthcare is never bad for business. If people have good experiences of MSK they will shout about it to friends and families. If they have poor experiences, they will just turn away. How can we find out more? This year MSKPN is proud to have been invited to deliver 2 breakout sessions at the MSK Conference at Birmingham NEC that runs alongside Therapy Expo on 22-23 November. Our programme focusses on raising standards, implementing outcome measures and demonstrating the valuable and innovative work that independent practitioners are delivering. We’ll talk about the benefits of working collaboratively both in an MDT environment but also sharing knowledge and ideas with other practitioners. If you are member of MSKPN you will benefit from an additional discount. Come and see us at our stand TF49 @TherapyExpo. Find out about membership by emailing us enquiries@mskpn.co.uk About Claire Small Claire still maintains a clinical list at her clinic in Kensington while lecturing and examining on several post graduate medical and physiotherapy courses. She is the co-author of the textbook “Managing the Injured Athlete” and has published papers on hip and groin dysfunction. She chairs the Quality Committee for MSKPN, with a primary focus on creating a unified system for the collection of Quality Metrics and Outcome Data. She is a member of the Faculty for the Emerging Leaders programme run by BASEM and the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) and also sits on the Board of the Australia-UK Chamber of Commerce. Learn more www.mskpn.co.uk Click here to download: Claire small blog RA awareness week 12.9.23 Final ### Nicola Graham Quality member's showcase Nicola tells us about the importance of investing in quality for her business, her team and her clients and how MSKPN is supporting its implementation. “Quality for me means effective and evidence based treatment that is focused on the goals of the client.” Bit about you and your business My name is Nicola Graham and I am the Managing Director of tops:health. We have 4 sites in Oxfordshire delivering Physiotherapy and Sports Massage. We also offer Pilates and Yoga, private and group classes. tops:health was formerly The Oxford Physiotherapy Service, established in 1984, and Bicester Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic joined the group in 2020. We are a team of nearly 30 professionals offering our expert services. I am a physiotherapist by background but have been non-clinical since 2017. I now focus solely on the business operations and management and am currently undertaking an MBA at Warwick Business School. What does quality mean to you? As a physiotherapist, for me quality means effective and evidence based treatment that is focused on the goals of the client. This belief has evolved to a broader term around "value based healthcare" that focuses on outcomes that we can deliver for clients. I am passionate about the service physiotherapists can deliver and the positive impact this can have on people's lives and therefore I want to ensure this information is collected and is widely available. What are the top benefits of quality data collection? I’ve gained data that I previously didn’t have access to regarding our service provision and customer experience I’ve established a baseline Net Promoter Score for each clinic and individual therapists, as well as found a consistent way to attain Google reviews We are able to communicate with clients about their needs remotely between appointments We are able to engage with clients to offer follow up appointments and reviews if their rehab is not going as planned because we have provided an opportunity for them to provide feedback, when they may not have called us to book an appointment themselves. How did you commence the quality journey, what did you do? As a high achieving physiotherapist, I have always valued data collection within my clinical practice and this has taken various forms over the years, but nothing has been standardised or automated, and therefore been consistently implemented. I historically and briefly engaged with a data collection tool advocated by another organisation but I struggled to consistently engage with this. How has MSKPN helped this journey? I joined MSKPN at the start of the pandemic and it was invaluable for general business support. I then volunteered to join the data quality sub-committee of MSKPN which was set up to follow on from previous work that had been undertaken with a variety of stakeholders around data collection in MSK services. The data quality sub-committee was led by Claire Small and Matthew Carr. However myself and other members provided feedback on data collection and possible implementation challenges within our businesses. MSKPN quickly engaged with practice management systems and aimed to automate data collection in a standardised format.  What problems did you encounter/lessons learnt? Some of the larger organisations in MSKPN were able to engage with a slightly more expensive data collection software company called Cemplicity straight away. Whilst this relationship was developing, I decided to be a 'guinea pig client' for FollowApp Care, who were investigating whether their software, specifically used by dentists, could be transferred to the MSK space. This patient engagement software has provided us with daily feedback regarding both quantitative NPS surveys and qualitative experiential data. We have also started collecting clinical outcomes through it around pain, function and goals. FollowApp has been a great and simple introduction to regular data collection within our team and we look forward to transferring to the more robust and granular data collection system that Cemplicity offers. We have faced the expected challenges around team engagement from a time perspective, rather than objecting to it as a process, hence why we are automating data collection through technology software which also provides more objective outcomes. Why is quality important to you, your practice, your clients? Understanding quality is important as we live in a data driven world. When clients don't complete a course of treatment or rebook follow up sessions, we can contact them but if they don't respond, we can't complete our clinical reasoning as a therapist, and even more concerning, is that we assume that they have got better and are fine. This is detrimental for an individual therapist's professional development but also for the reputation of physiotherapy and the value we can offer and provide within our clinical care. We need this ongoing communication with clients that technology can provide, as well as the objective ability to assess how someone is progressing and we intervene and engage with them at appropriate times to ensure rehabilitation programmes are completed. We want to offer excellent care and for every client to have a positive experience. If we don't collect data, measure these outcomes then we have no baseline markers to develop from. We then need to ensure we advocate our value, continually review our systems and processes and continue to innovate to drive the profession forward. What advice would you give to others? Start collecting data now! Set time aside and work out a process that will work for your business. Implement it, review it and let it naturally evolve. Learn to challenge your assumptions, feel comfortable with hearing both the positives and negatives of your business and engage with your team to create space for conversations around how development can occur. Engage with technology and software options, if possible, to automate the processes and understand how they can assist you. Reach out to colleagues, peers and MSKPN to discuss your options. At the end of the day, if we aren’t measuring it, then we can't improve it and that will become a massive barrier to the profession’s development and sustainability. Learn more www.mskpn.co.uk Click here to download:  Nicola Graham quality showcase ### MSKPN Leadership Programme 2023 “When you unlock potential you unlock performance”   I’m delighted to invite you to sign up to an innovative and unique leadership programme tailored for MSK professionals and leaders. We have asked members what sorts of things we could help with to grow their businesses and you told us you would like advice on managing people, leading teams and a whole range of commercial support aspects for you and your leaders in your business. We listened and acted - Whilst there are other leadership programmes out there, we have worked with leadership expert John Fletcher - former director of rugby and head of England’s Rugby performance pathway - to cover the challenges we all face and develop a course just for MSKPN members. This will be the third of these and the feedback to the first 2 has been outstanding and we’re confident you won’t find a better course out there. Commercially and self-development focussed, it spans 4 full days sessions which will be held on Saturday 2 September / 30 September / 4 November and 2 December This leadership programme has been subsidised for MSKPN members and will be operated on a first come first served basis at a cost of £499. If there is availability, we can accept non-members at the full rate. See video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuTh9ArPsss   To enquire, please contact: enquiries@mskpn.co.uk ### Steven Berkman, Founder and Owner, Boost Physio Steven Berkman, Founder and Owner, Boost Physio, and Tier 1 MSKPN member, talks about growing a physio business and why he values MSKPN. Having a trade body representing the interests of the collective is a major benefit.  Being a member is incredibly beneficial and the membership fee is tremendous value for money I was inspired to be a MSK clinician from a love of helping people When I was in high school, I loved going to the gym and learning about muscles in the body and I also loved the sciences, so physio was a perfect career for me. With MSK conditions I feel there is a very clear beginning, middle and end to help people on their journey and achieve their goals. Joining MSKPN really was an eye opening experience Pre-Covid, whilst I was aware of MSKPN, I felt too busy to get involved in another network. And then Covid came along and it was amazing to share ideas and get help on how to get back to work. What are the main benefits of being part of MSKPN Content of the webinars - much more important and engaging to business owners, eg recent series on practice ownership models have been very insightful. This content isn’t available anywhere else Leadership course – we’ve put 3 team members through the leadership course to help them develop their career path and given them confidence Opportunities to meet face to face - We have met to talk about recruitment, training and developing less experienced physios, and members have very openly shared their experiences with colleague as opposed to competitors. Range of businesses and people involved - Members are business owners with business hats on. Other physio networks are mostly only dealing with physios. MSKPN is giving me two things as a growing business Firstly Networking - I find the biggest benefit is being part of the conversation and at the table with similar business owners who understand our shared issues. Hearing the perspectives from colleagues and information sharing has been incredibly valuable, whether via webinars, meetings, face to face dinners and networking events. Secondly having a bigger voice - As a group, we are able to flag issues with insurers and third parties. We all struggle equally in dealing with insurance companies. Through our WhatsApp group, it became clear there were payment delays so MSKPN had a conversation at a higher level. This wouldn’t have been possible for a single person to do. What I needed during early Covid was reassurance I realised that everyone was having exactly the same challenges and grappling with the same difficulties as myself. We were preparing to restart and had to see people safely. So between us we created an umbrella of agreed parameters - any real meaningful national guidance was so infuriatingly slow. We didn’t just survive, we thrived All our clinics are in residential areas and didn’t suffer from office closures, as people were all working from home. Therefore we had good periods of growth and were busier than we were pre-Covid. I feel there is a fantastic spirit of sharing and openness within the group which I feel is very welcome. I wanted to be a Tier 1 member   I felt I needed to be at the top table and have the high level discussions with practices of a similar size and help shape the agenda. I felt like we should be held accountable to the members and deliver on the asks. I feel very strongly that accountability is two way. My advice to other practices about joining MSKPN? I think you will get a tremendous amount out of the network that is completely different to any network you’ve been involved in before, whether that’s a professional, clinical or business group. MSKPN consists of people with a business hat on, who work within MSK care with a clinical and business agenda. Read more about Steven’s early career and progress to date … I graduated in Physiotherapy at the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1997 I worked in a small private practice. I then moved to London and worked in the NHS for 6 years and whilst I gained and learnt a huge amount, I felt I was doing my job with one hand tied behind my back. Feeling frustrated because of limited resources and pressure on waiting lists and the push to move to self management approaches, I started working on an evening in private practice and in 2006, myself and a part time colleague set up Boost Physio. Initially started out by hiring a gym in Middlesex University, a fire pushed me out of my comfort zone and I opened my own clinic on the high street in Hendon. The initial financial commitment was very stressful When I took to leap and set up on my own, the first challenge was the finance required to complete the fit out, which caused many sleepless nights. Everything else was small mini steps. Hiring a full time receptionist and growing the number of full time physios made me feel a real sense of gamble and jeopardy, thinking if this doesn’t go right it’s my money. Another challenge was which area, which street and which shop. Key things to consider were parking and convenience to clients. We developed a unique approach involving "hands on" treatments with a focus on finding and treating the source of the problem The business grew gradually and now Boost Physio has six high street clinics in London and a team of 22 physios. We have helped over 20,000 people feel fantastic, faster. Our latest clinic was established in Kensington in October 22 with the main aim to provide patients with everything they need to achieve their goals and help them with their recovery. We love helping people get back to the things they love to do, that pain or injury has taken away from them We aim to provide the same level of physiotherapy and rehabilitation to our patients, that professional sports people receive. Having a low back problem myself helps me better understand and help people I love helping people achieve goals they never thought possible and recover from pain and injury. As I have a low back disc problem that I have managed for over 20 years. I've managed to run several marathons and complete many triathlons with my condition. Download Steven's showcase here:  Steven Berkman members showcase Learn more at: https://mskpn.co.uk   ### Karen Young, physiotherapist and partner at SPEAR Physiotherapy in Aberdeen Karen Young, physiotherapist and partner at SPEAR Physiotherapy in Aberdeen, tells us about how she has grown her business into what it is today and how the support of MSKPN has been invaluable "MSKPN - It’s like having 50 business mentors" I battled through for 19 years and then MSKPN came along My business partner, Lesley and I started the business from scratch in 2001. From doing a couple of evenings a week we gradually built things up to a practice which now hosts 19 physios in 3 different locations in and around Aberdeen, Scotland. As business owners and clinicians, we’ve all got similar problems. MSKPN helps you think through how to deal with an issue, sometimes they reinforce what you already know or come up with a different solution to your challenges. It’s like having 50 mentors, each with different perspectives on how best to do something. I came to be a member of MSKPN during Covid Recommended by a friend, it was £1 to join at that point but I had no hesitation in paying more. I used to be a member of Physiofirst but I didn’t feel it was as valuable. We decided to appeal our grant decision and we received rates and grant relief from the Council. We spoke to the group about what we did and helped others appeal, who also overturned their Council’s decision. Quality is never bad for business For me joining MSKPN is about the quality agenda and bringing about change. Stay focused on quality and the figures take care of themselves. Focus on doing a good job and help patients to recover and fulfil their individual goals. For someone who’s starting out, MSKPN is invaluable When you’re starting out, you tend to worry - you don’t know what you don’t know. MSKPN members are happy to help because there is no threat to their business as they are based all over the country and not in competition. If I could have anything in business, I would have more time and save money MSKPN provides advice that saves you time and money. You spend so much time researching things. Now I just ask the WhatsApp group - it’s so much easier. Why would you do it on your own when you can do it with 50 people by your side. There are a lot of things MSKPN could have helped with, if I’d been a member When we started renting our unit, it would have been really useful to be part of MSKPN as we were winging it. In Scotland homeowners don’t pay for water. When we were calculating our costs for expansion we didn’t factor this in, however as a business we do have to pay for water. It would have been really useful to know this. We were lucky enough to have help from another business who gave us advice, going from contractors to employees which was invaluable, but help like this is rare. When the opportunity came to become part of a bigger network with lots of help, this was very appealing. Karen tells us a little more about career I was inspired to be a physio at age 16 After a football injury, I had physio and thought it looked like a fun job. I love the idea of helping people get better, so it was good timing as I was at the age of needing to make my career choices. I now coach kids grass roots football, coaching a 6 year old boys team and the under 10 girls team and it’s great to see them achieve something. My passion is to keep golfers on the golf course I graduated with a first-class honours degree in 1998 and worked for a short while in the NHS. My specialism is sport, having worked with the Scottish National golf squads from 2002 and was lead physiotherapist for Scottish Golf from 2005 until 2014. In 2011 I was appointed physiotherapist for the Walker Cup whilst at Royal Aberdeen. After having a family, I’m now based mainly in Aberdeen, but continue to work with golfers of all levels, from European Tour players to weekend warriors. One piece of early advice was – keep your focus About 10 years ago, there were many physios in the market, but we were successful by keeping a strong focus on our specialisms – mine is sports injuries and my business partner’s is neurological rehab. We’re known as “the sports people”, based in the Aberdeen sports village, a golf centre and on the high street. Whilst at university, Lesley and I wanted to find an elective placement in Australia and we were invited to join a brilliant guy who ran the Melbourne golf injury clinic in 1997. He was revolutionary in his approach. Breaking from stuffy traditions, he inspired us to do something dynamic and fun and our goal was to set something up in Aberdeen which shouted to the world we were there, rather than hidden behind closed doors. I love my work When you see so many people being miserable in their job, I feel really lucky to go to work every day in a job I love. The bigger the challenge the more I get out of it. I was involved in high performance sport for years and I think it means more to me now, helping hobby golfers. Golfers that are unable to play golf are grumpy people. I just enjoy being with people and making a difference. Top 3 benefits of being part of MSKPN A great support network – people have been/are really amazed at the support offered eg in setting up your own business, what software package to use, how do you employ people, all the HR and infrastructure needed to run a business. Collaboration – What I got out of MSKPN initially was the collaborative approach about how we managed Covid. Mentorship – I’m hoping to have the opportunity to help younger growing practices and physios. I think we lack that from existing organisations, who don’t really seem to support private businesses. MSKPN has helped me with so many things Dealing with insurance companies – what’s ok and what’s not ok Healthcode – I was told we needed to pay per clinician but then a few of the members said we pay per clinic. That was massive Cost of electric – what’s reasonable to pay Rental agreements – what’s ok to be in there And much more Learn more at www.mskpn.co.uk    Download Karen's member showcase HERE  ### MSKPN – Leadership Mindset Weds 23 February at 18.00-19.00 What do we mean by developing a leadership mindset? Hosted by Rupert Crowfoot, Chief Executive, Sixphysio and MSKPN Board member Contributors: John Fletcher - Former Director of Rugby and Head of England’s Rugby performance pathway who is now immersed in all things leadership, developing teams, coaching and mentoring in high performance sport and the world of business Ash James - Physio with a background in elite sport who is Head of Clinical Education at Connect Health and has a real passion for all things Leadership. Eddie Smith - Head of MSK services at Six with real life experience of leading multi site clinic teams through the Pandemic and brimming with ideas and thoughts on the back of his MBA Email enquiries@mskpn.co.uk to sign up to this member’s only event. ### Matthew Carr hosted a Members Only Quality Update Webinar on 7 December 2021 Well, those 12 months of 2021 have flown by, despite all the challenges thrown our way by the pesky virus that shall not be named. It has been a really enjoyable experience to work with so many of you on our quality agenda throughout the year and it is great to take stock of what we have collectively achieved. We have created and adopted a common approach to capturing meaningful quality data across the MSK industry. We have influenced several of our most common patient software providers to develop innovative ways of capturing and reporting this data in a way which limits the admin burden on our clinical workforce. We have influenced many of the leading private medical insurers to see the value of prioritising this quality agenda. We have come together to share our successes and challenges in creating clinical teams who see the value in capturing and using this critical information. We have used our experiences to influence more broadly across the MSK industry, shaping national thinking on the MSK quality agenda and embedding the MSKPN approach within NHS MSK services. These efforts are starting to bear us fruit. Quality data sets available to some of our early adopters really allow clinics to understand where they create the greatest patient improvements. Clinics are able to see where they perform less well and target their training and resources to make improvements in these areas. All of this work will not only put us in a stronger position to demonstrate the value we deliver to our patients but will give our professions greater credibility and influence. Thank you to all of you who have embraced and supported our collective efforts throughout 2021. I wish you all a wonderful festive break and I look forward to working with you in the new year to drive forward even more quality improvements for our collective benefit. ### CSP Consultation for the new MSK Service Standards CSP consultation for the new MSK Service Standards ### Matthew Carr, MSKPN Quality Lead - Raising MSK quality standards   Welcome to my first blog on behalf of MSKPN (Musculoskeletal Partners Network), the trade association committed to improving quality and raising standards across musculoskeletal medicine. I hope you are all enjoying the start of your Summer and that by the time this comes out the sun is shining again. For those of you who don’t know what I do, I work on members' behalf to promote the quality agenda in MSK healthcare. I have been with MSKPN since January 2021 and I have one day a week to dedicate to this work. I have enjoyed meeting members virtually, hearing what is important to you from a quality perspective and helping shape the early stages of our quality agenda. I hope by now you will all have seen the MSKPN recommendations for establishing a common MSK quality standard. This guidance document brings together the work and ideas of many industry stakeholders to create a practical and meaningful approach to start consistently proving the value of what we love doing. It is clear this is a priority topic for MSK healthcare right now, with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy currently working to create a new MSK service standards and audit tool and NHS England leading a national programme to create a common standard of what best MSK healthcare should look like (#BestMSKHealth). Many of you will also be familiar with the excellent work Physio First continue to lead on to demonstrate quality of MSK physiotherapy for the private sector with their Quality Assured Practitioner (QAP) and Quality Assured Clinic (QAC) scheme (https://www.physiofirst.org.uk/benefits/qap.html). The MSK industry is extremely multifaceted, from the wide range of professionals who deliver MSK healthcare to the vast variation in size and makeup of the service providers. What MSKPN aim to achieve with our recommendations is to set a common standard that works across all these aspects of the industry. From single practitioners working from home clinics, to large scale, multi-site private clinics, to NHS organisations and social enterprises delivering MSK services. We want to create a commonality of measuring and demonstrating the value of what we all do in a way that is broad enough to support the variation described, and meaningful enough to create a useful understanding of variation in quality for all involved. This approach needs to be easy to implement, which is why our approach includes only free-to-access measures of quality. This focus on ‘easy’ is also the driver behind our work to engage with our members commonly used patient software providers and encourage them to create templates for easy data collection and analysis, at no additional cost to software users. Most importantly, the outcomes need to be meaningful to our patients so they can clearly understand what value they are likely to receive from your MSK services. The outcomes of some initial member testing of these recommendations is looking positive. One of our members who is trialling the template from TM3 (https://www.tm3app.com) produced the following outcomes from their June data. 75% average improvement in pain levels 81% average overall improvement in condition 81% average overall improvement in functional goals 67% of patients likely to recommend the organisation to family and friends I hope you agree how valuable this data will be for the industry and our patients when more of us can present this for our own clinics. As is the nature with testing, these initial results highlighted some important points for learning and we will continue to refine this process and share updates with members. We are at the start of an iterative journey, but MSKPN are excited to see the momentum is gaining and the outcomes are starting to come in.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv2Ot0g-kFw   Matthew Carr – MSKPN Quality Lead July 2021   For any questions or comments, please contact matthewcarr@mskpn.com     ### Nicola from Tops Health - Lessons learnt and positives from Covid Nicola Graham, MD, Tops Health and member of MSKPN, reflects on the lessons learnt and positives from Covid over the last 15 months, and how MSKPN has supported business owners like herself, through peer networking, commercial webinars, courses and support. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YauKtQ7gUO8 “Having the knowledge that as business owners we are all going through the same challenges has been very reassuring and the support of the MSKPN has been hugely welcome. I feel reassured and positive that the services we provide are needed in healthcare.”   Reflections on the pandemic  It is fair to say that no one has found the last 15 months easy; it has involved constant juggles, adaptations and innovations. As a small business owner, there were definite dark times but also huge lifelines, namely, mortgage holidays, furlough, business rates relief and also the fundamental knowledge that everyone is going through the same thing together. The devastating effects on business are not due to a poor business plan or poor leadership or management; the global factors were out of our control, however, how we respond to them at the time and going forward are of course in our control. Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results –Willie Nelson Tops:health, my business, had acquired another local Physiotherapy business across two sites in February 2020 and we were also due to acquire a local Gym and move premises in May 2020. These activities were reliant on healthy sales as well as a small business loan. Unfortunately the acquisition of the gym had to be put on hold as I wasn’t willing to take on the liabilities at that uncertain time, and it would only have been successful with an uninterrupted cash flow. In June 2020, the clinic doors at tops:health reopened after three months of delivering our services solely virtually. We adapted overnight back in March 2020 and moved our physio clinics and Pilates and yoga classes online and will be ever grateful for the team’s ability to engage and innovate, and our client’s loyalty and support to join us in the world of Zoom. Once we did reopen in June 2020, there were feelings of nervousness, anticipation and constant worry as to whether our policies and procedures were correct, were we keeping our staff and clients safe from an invisible threat, and would people come back to us. These thoughts haven’t really changed through this time and the continual uncertainty remains present; however it is to a lesser extent. Through the subsequent lockdowns, the ability to adapt has become easier as well as the reopening of services. The virtual delivery of appointments and classes as well as hybrid options, are now embedded in our main services and will be for the foreseeable future. Updated timely guidance from professional bodies, even if it was to reiterate previous advice, could have been more forthcoming, however, very supportive peer networks and groups have filled this gap.   What have I missed the most during this time? Certainty, connection, and ability to plan. However, there are numerous positives that can’t be overlooked and warrant further discussion. Firstly, becoming part of the MSKPN (Musculoskeletal Partners Network - the trade association committed to improving quality and raising standards), during the pandemic has provided opportunities for peer support, networking and professional development that wouldn’t have been possible before this time. Being able to log into webinars or various topics relevant for business leaders as well as an interactive WhatsApp group has been invaluable. More specifically to my business, due to some of our classes being oversubscribed, we had been looking at online classes for a while and therefore the hybrid nature of our class delivery now is fantastic. The software and technology advancements that have occurred during this time have also been hugely positive; online payments, Zoom integration with class booking system to automatically send out links, and inbuilt telehealth to deliver virtual consults. As a business we have also been able to negotiate affordable premises rents, secure a new city centre location at a desired location, and personally, I have thoroughly welcomed the ability to join courses, webinars and events online which otherwise wouldn’t be possible due to work and family commitments. There is no underestimating the challenges that are still ahead within the UK and globally on many levels. The delay and interruption of healthcare services specifically, even at our small scale, are seen by the demand on our physiotherapy services, and the complexity of the cases that we are now seeing. The challenges of the last 15 months both personally and professionally for our team have had a knock on effect and therefore, the ability as a business leader to balance the priorities of the business, the clients and the team, continues to be a juggle that requires energy and empathy. What continues to be clear, is the essential need for high quality physiotherapy that can provide accurate diagnosis, progressive and personalised rehab plans, and a discussion regarding how to prevent recurrence and how to address contributing health and lifestyle factors. This reactive and preventative approach underpins my personal and professional view of health; an episode of an illness or injury is an opportunity to become fitter and healthier.   Nicola Graham, Managing Director, Tops Health Hear more from Nicola here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YauKtQ7gUO8 ### MSK PN Strategy Document MSKPN Strategy_Membership Structure ### Exciting Opportunity for an Experienced MSK Clinician   An exciting opportunity for a has arisen for a Quality Lead with the MSK Partners Network. This is for 1 day per week. Should you be interested, you can apply by sending your CV and covering letter to enquiries@mskpn.co.uk  Quality Lead MSKPN Job Advert Nov2020   ### Trade association warns 18 million Brits living with pain not to avoid medical treatment because of COVID Study from first lockdown revealed three quarters did not seek treatment and over a third of pain sufferers ‘self-medicated’ to avoid burdening the NHS As nationwide COVID-19 cases continue to peak and one in four Brits are reportedly facing local restrictions – experts from the Musculoskeletal Partners Network (MSKPN) are warning the UK’s 18 million pain sufferers[1] to seek medical treatment for their ailments should a second national lockdown hit. The advice comes as the trade association, whose members include physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors, reveals the worrying findings of a study into the musculoskeletal (MSK) health of 2000 people during the first lockdown. Of those polled, more than half (57%) suffered with pains, strains or discomfort across areas including in their joints, limbs, hips, back, neck, knees, shoulders, ligaments, muscles or with MSK conditions such as arthritis. When asked how they treated their conditions, almost three quarters (73%) did not seek any treatment during lockdown. 36% said it was because they self-medicated, 35% didn’t want to overburden the NHS with a low priority issue and 33% didn’t want to attend a healthcare setting due to exposure to COVID-19.   Andrew Walton, co-founder and chair of MSKPN, says: “Our study shows three quarters of those with pain in the UK – that’s around 13.5 million people - could potentially be avoiding treatment because of COVID. With the threat of a second nationwide lockdown looming and local restrictions already in force, it is terrifying to think such a big chunk of society could be suffering in silence – choosing to self-medicate to mask their pain and avoiding medical intervention. “While they may have thought they were helping the NHS by not seeking guidance, in the long run they are risking long-term health issues. Plus, the knock-on implications for the NHS could be mammoth, especially as we already know that waiting lists for operations, which includes millions of routine hip and knee procedures, is set to reach 10 million people[2] by the end of the year. “The figure that one third of those with pain, approximately six million people in the UK, may choose to self-medicate rather than get professional help is also a huge red flag. A study released last autumn found that one in four people were taking “addictive medicines”[3] - we hope, by shining a light on the problem, these people will now get the treatment they desperately need, instead of reaching for the medicine cabinet.”   Stephanie Preston, 49, from Uxbridge, Middlesex knows only too well how easy it is to fall into an unhealthy relationship with medication. Suffering with chronic pain for over 20 years and being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2004, the mother of two spent years trying different prescribed drugs to help manage her pain. “At one point I felt I was living in a drug-hazed life,” Stephanie recalls. “I remember friends and family visiting and I would fall asleep because my medication was so strong. Then there were the side effects – allergic reactions, sickness and even hospital trips because one treatment resulted in blocked bowels, which can be really dangerous.” Taking matters into her own hands, Stephanie joined a pain management programme and now has a series of tools she uses to help with her daily pain battles. Now, she only takes one tablet before bed to help relax her muscles while she sleeps. “I knew I had to take ownership because no-one was going to do it for me. Since then my whole attitude has changed, and I can manage my pain thanks to mindfulness and coping techniques, instead of expecting a magic tablet to make it all better,” Stephanie explains. During lockdown, Stephanie, who works for the Home Office and is a Mental Health first aider, maintained her daily exercise through regular walks with her labradoodle, Ozzy. Stephanie is concerned others may choose to self-medicate rather than bother the NHS if the UK goes into a second national lockdown. Her advice: “Never underestimate how important walking is and be present in the moment. When I walk, I really take in my surroundings - I listen for the birds and pay attention to the scenery, it helps take my mind off my pain.”   Andrew Walton, who also founded community healthcare provider Connect Health over three decades ago, concludes: “Stories like Stephanie’s highlight how easy it is to become overly reliant on medication, sometimes with really damaging consequences. “We know now is a scary and uncertain time for many people, but help is out there, and new innovations are now available like the C-Chart tool, which helps clinicians weigh up the risk of COVID versus the support the patient needs. Tools like this are both reassuring for those requiring treatment and for the healthcare professional and will ensure that the safest route to treatment, which could include a face-to-face consultation under stringent safety measures, is found.”   The study also found that more than a fifth (22%) of respondents admitted that their condition worsened during lockdown, over a quarter (26%) feel weaker/less well physically now than before lockdown and 26% said they felt more stressed and less in control during lockdown. Full findings of the report can be viewed and downloaded here.   [1] https://www.versusarthritis.org/media/14594/state-of-musculoskeletal-health-2019.pdf [2] The NHS Confederation, June 2020 [3] https://www.nhs.uk/news/medication/1-4-people-take-addictive-medicines-finds-review/ ### Rates, Grants & Insurance Letter Template A Template letter that you can copy and paste (and fill in the gaps) before you send to your MPs [Name of MP]   [Email address of MP]   Dear [Name of MP] [Physiotherapy/ Osteopathy/ Chiropractic/ MSK] Businesses and Covid-19 The Musculoskeletal Partners Network (MSKPN) sits at the heart of the independent musculoskeletal industry to give providers of MSK services a collective voice and represents over 100 organisations. Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 provided that various Retail, Leisure and Hospitality (RLH) industries were subject to closure on 23 March 2020 but specifically exempted from this requirement the Medical Services sector (this included osteopaths, dentists, chiropractors). Government issued instructions to Local Authorities to provide 100% relief from Business Rates for 12 months and a Grant to those RLH businesses giving a discretion to individual Local Authorities to decide if similar businesses not listed could be aligned to be granted this same relief. Private physiotherapy businesses for the vast majority provide secondary care, outpatient clinics. They are not involved in primary care and do not require CQC registration as they do not see emergency or urgent conditions. They have no imaging facilities, do not inject or prescribe and do not have a paediatric service. Most do not provide any NHS services. Many run in a gym setting for pre and post elective surgery rehabilitation and provide Pilates classes and massage and rely almost completely on face to face contact. Businesses such as wellness centres, massage parlours, indoor sports facilities, gyms were all granted RHL relief. Whilst a handful of Local Authorities have been willing to utilise the discretion given to them in granting the available reliefs/grants to physiotherapy businesses, these have tended to be outside London. The majority of London Boroughs have been unwilling to use this discretion at all, even in one instance where the Valuation Office Agency categorisation of 'Gym and Premises’ enabled it to grant Business Rates Relief initially it then withdrew it on the basis that, as a Medical Service, it had been excluded from the Government closure requirements. A further implication of the Government classification (as a Medical Service) being exempted from closure requirements is that businesses that might otherwise have been entitled to insurance payouts for Business Interruption Insurance are currently unable to secure these. In the case of Aviva, this is being challenged by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), our professional trade body, on the basis that the overall effect of Government policy (healthcare policy implemented through a legal framework involving the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England (NHSE) and Stay at Home guidance issued by the government to both healthcare workers and the public) was that the industry was forced to close its doors. The CSP advised that all non-essential face to face health and social care delivery must stop and remote consultations should be used to provide services without physical interaction. All musculoskeletal and outpatients’ services were stopped. To have continued treating patients in our clinics would have breached government instructions, Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) (statutory regulator within the UK for physiotherapists) regulatory obligations, CSP guidance and the physiotherapists common law Duty of Care. Significant financial hardship has been suffered by physiotherapy businesses as a result of the catastrophic loss in income due to closure, in line with the majority of the RLH businesses, but unlike them we are not receiving the rates/grant benefit, nor insurance payouts, to help alleviate this loss meaning many are facing imminent insolvency with landlords (often unsympathetic) to pay in addition. 50% of our members do not believe they will survive beyond June and if they do, they will likely be technically insolvent given their growing liabilities. If this transpires then 2 million patients who rely on our members services will have to turn to an already overstretched NHS which itself has a growing backlog due to the redeployment of so much resource into the fight against COVID. Consequences of Government advice: prevented our patients from visiting us (Stay at Home, Save Lives) prevented us from opening our clinics as we couldn’t comply with our regulatory duties/ couldn’t safely social distance either our patients/our staff ensured CSP told physios to provide services without physical interaction except for very limited circumstances Financial consequences of Government excluding Medical Services sector from its closure requirements: The majority of Local Authorities will not use the flexibility afforded to them to align us with gyms/leisure facilities/wellness centres and instead insist we fall within the Medical Services exemption and refuse us Business Rates relief and Grants Insurance companies are using this as a reason not to pay out for Business Interruption Insurance Action we have taken: We have written to our Local Authorities/London Boroughs, to MPs, to Robert Jenrick and Alok Sharma; MSK PN has appeared on ITV London News, was featured in the Sunday Telegraph Business, the Sunday Times, the Times Business (Monday - link attached) and will hopefully be appearing on Channel 5 News. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/physios-and-dentists-need-help-to-stay-on-their-feet-xz8h373x2?shareToken=0a5bc30c72e9dbfe849a96c1577fec75 We really need your help in: directing [Local Authorities/London Boroughs] in particular to use the flexibility they have clearly been given to enable Business Rates relief and Grants to be given to physiotherapy businesses (and others included within the Medical Services sector) that will simply disappear if they are not urgently granted this help getting the Government to recognise and urgently address the crippling financial injustice being wrought on this industry by its blanket exemption in the emergency legislation. If you need any further information, then please do not hesitate to contact me.   Yours sincerely       ### An Industry in Crisis How UK Private Physiotherapy are impacted by COVID-19 ### Lobbying for Business rates relief Download template letters and send to your local authority, MPs, councillors and other influencers to help spread the word. The members of the Musculoskeletal Partners Network is calling for a rates moratorium for at least 12 months as has already been granted to a number of other industries. There are 80,000 physiotherapists and MSK practitioners (physios, chiropractors, osteopaths, podiatrists, sports therapists) and whilst the majority work in the NHS, a large number operate in private businesses or as sole traders. On Government advice, understandably, they have had to close their doors, leaving them with no income. These private practices, who work outside the NHS on the high street, whether large or small, have typically seen up to 90% reduction in activity - placing many physiotherapy businesses at risk of insolvency We need everyone’s help to include private physiotherapists and physiotherapy businesses in the list of businesses eligible for exemption from business rates for at least 12 months. We would appreciate this clarification being passed urgently to all local authorities to prevent many businesses being forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. Help us spread the word.   Link to MP letter Link to other stakeholders letter ## Pages ### MSK/Therapy Show exclusive ### Rewards of Membership ### Benefits of Membership ### MSKPN and PhysioMatters The Musculoskeletal Partners Network has teamed up with PhysioMatters to help shape the direction of our sector Our purpose is to provide a collective voice. To drive and leverage a quality and customer focussed agenda to enable private organisations providing MSK services to succeed. Our 3 focus areas  Quality agenda – establishing the gold standard  Commercial know how – sharing best practice Network support – shared challenges and practical solutions    Become A Member Of MSKPN As a trade association, we are always looking for new members to help increase our influence: Membership starts at just £295 per annum  Tier 1 – Strategic Forum Full access to all events, meetings, input to policy, influence the strategic direction of MSKPN.  From £750 pa dependent upon revenue of your business    Tier 2 – Member’s Forum Full access to all events and support Price £295 p/a  Application for Membership is welcome from any association, company and or organisation worldwide, whose primary activity is the provision of MSK services. To apply for membership please complete the enquiry form below Full name (lead contact)Job titleCompanyMobile numberEmail Interested inInterested inTier 1 Strategic ForumTier 2 Member's Forum3 month money back guaranteeOther enquiryNumber of clinicsNumber of staffAdditional infoHow did you hear about MSKPN?*How did you hear about MSKPN?Colleague recommendationMSKPN Member recommendationSocial mediaEmailEventOther – please stateOther For further information, invites to MSK Industry events and resources sign up to the newsletter below For further information, invites to MSK Industry events and resources enter your details (open to non-members) * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name Organisation ### Cookie Policy Cookie Policy Strictly necessary wordpress_[hash] Purpose: store the authentication details on login. The authentication details include the username and double hashed copy of the password. 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Expiry: 2 days Type: HTTP Statistic cookies: help website owners understand how many visitors interact with their website by collecting and reporting information. ### Useful links and resources ### Quality outcomes ### Data collection ### Recommended quality standards ### Login Username or Email Address Password Remember Me ### Events If you would like to get involved in any of these topics, or would like to find out about membership, please get in touch with us enquiries@mskpn.co.uk ### Quality ### Your Profile ### Membership ### Quality test ### Documents ### Events ### Members area Welcome to the MSKPN Members area where you can find: Events Upcoming and past events Links and summaries Reference Surveys Documents for members Best practice, tips and articles Quality Recommended quality standards Data collection Quality outcomes Useful links and resources Membership List of members Manage profile ### Home Why join MSKPN? A trade association committed to improving quality and raising standards, enabling private musculoskeletal practices to grow and thrive ### Contact Online Enquiry We would love to hear from any service provider/company interested in delivering MSK services with a focus on quality and outcomes who would be interested in joining the network. NameCompanyEmail Interested inInterested inTier 1 membership – Strategic ForumTier 2 membership – Member’s Forum3 month money back guaranteeOther enquiryAdditional infoHow did you hear about MSKPN?*How did you hear about MSKPN?Colleague recommendationMSKPN Member recommendationSocial mediaEmailEventOther – please stateOther ### Our Members ### Our work ### What we do Musculoskeletal Partners Network   In 2016, a few providers met by chance at a conference and agreed that the sustainability of our investment in quality MSK services was under threat due to a longstanding lack of understanding and data. Through the networks of those founding individuals, others joined the quarterly informal meetings and began to find consensus resulting in agreement to form a trade association. The Musculoskeletal Partners Network (MSKPN) was formed in spring 2018 and it sits at the heart of the industry to give providers of MSK services a collective voice. The current market is fragmented and there is no other network of its kind available today, therefore the MSKPN provides guidance to help raise standards and educate commissioners and system leaders of the benefits of investing in quality MSK services to patients, purchasers and staff working in those organisations. ## Events ### Business Briefing: IR35 Business Briefing: IR35 - Sarah-Jane Butler, Solicitor, Farringford Legal  Session on IR35 and legal implications for our members, helping businesses navigate the joys of working within its parameters! Sarah-Jane prepared a detailed breakdown of IR35 and its implications for small businesses, including practical considerations for engaging consultants versus employees.   IR35 Overview • IR35 is legislation aimed at ensuring individuals working through intermediaries pay the same taxes as regular employees. • Introduced to tackle disguised employment, it affects small businesses that hire contractors. • The Employment Rights Act mirrors IR35, meaning compliance is not just a tax issue but also an employment law issue. Small Business Exemption • Small businesses may be exempt from some IR35 responsibilities, but must still assess contractor relationships. • The exemption applies if the business has 50 employees or fewer, an annual turnover of £10.2 million or less, or a balance sheet of £5.1 million or less. • Even if exempt from IR35, businesses must comply with the Employment Rights Act. Contractor vs Employee Relationships • Key factors to determine the nature of the relationship include control, substitution, and mutuality of obligation. • Contractors should have flexibility and be paid based on deliverables rather than fixed monthly payments to avoid being classified as employees. • Contracts must reflect actual working practices to avoid misclassification. Compliance and Risk Management • Businesses should regularly review contractor agreements to ensure compliance with current legislation. • Using the CESS tool can help assess contractor status and provide evidence in case of disputes. • If a contractor is determined to be an employee, businesses may need to negotiate terms and consider potential backdated claims for employment benefits. Farringford League Services • Farringford League offers legal support in finance, corporate, commercial, IP, trademark, patents, employment, HR, tax, data protection, and AI. • They provide a flexible 'Bank of Hours' payment model, allowing businesses to pay for only the services they use. • The team consists of experienced professionals who can assist small businesses with legal compliance and contractor management.   ### MSKPN Networking event 11.6.25 Thank you to all our members and wider colleagues for joining us this evening. It was a strong turnout with around 25 people in attendance. When it comes to understanding and addressing member needs, there is a clear alignment in our shared priorities. MSKPN Networking event Key takeaways 11.6.25 ### MSKPN Webinar Business briefing - Business exit Josh Catlett from Verulo, a brokerage specialising in the health sector shares his experience in scaling a private practice and transitioning into business brokerage. Summary Market Update and Buyer Distribution • Josh provides a market update on the MSK sector, highlighting the distribution of buyers. • There is an increase in solo practitioners looking to buy smaller practices, particularly in metropolitan areas. Transaction Insights • The average turnover of businesses represented has decreased, but this is due to an increase in smaller businesses being represented. • The average adjusted EBITDA margin has improved, indicating better financial health among businesses. Factors Impacting Saleability • Higher turnover generally leads to more attractive business valuations. • Having a solid lease and reducing reliance on the owner for clinical work are critical for saleability. Challenges in Selling a Business • Changes in financial performance during the sale process can impact final offers. • Buyers typically seek cash-free, debt-free transactions with sufficient working capital. Sector Predictions • There is growing interest in buy-and-build roll-ups in the MSK sector. • Emerging trends include cross-sector practices and a focus on experience-led care. Final Thoughts • Josh emphasizes the importance of being prepared and maintaining clear expectations during the sale process. Recap: MSKPN Webinar Business briefing - Business exit 14 May   ### MSKPN Webinar - Business briefing: Revenue diversification Our member only webinar on 23 April 2025, looked at various options for diversifying revenue streams in your clinical business and the reasons why you might want to look at this.   We were lucky to have two experts join MSKPN Chair - Simon Devane Dominic Smith. Business Development Manager, Physiquipe who discussed who and why to diversify with Shockwave and Forceplates Dave Baker, Clinical Director, Complete Physio who took questions on diagnostic ultrasound/ultrasound guided injections   Key takeaways   If you’re going to diversify, do it with a good intent. It’s about enhancing the diagnosis and treatment levels Ask will it improve your services and will it help staff Give people choice There is a risk of over-diversification Stick to your core values   Diversifying Revenue Streams in MSK Practice - Dom Smith ### MSKPN Webinar - How using Cemplicity can make you money Who is Cemplicity? Cemplicity is an IT organisation and they collect PREMS and PROMS on behalf of MSKPN members who wish to have their data collected, for a commercially related fee. As a member of MSKPN this fee is discounted by 50%. This makes it an excellent way of getting your money back as part of the membership fee and is very cost effective. Why are we collecting data? The Healthcare Professionals Council (HCPC) changed their standards of proficiency in September 2023. There are 13 standards. Standard 11 is all about how, as a physio, you are duty bound to assure the quality of your practice. How using Cemplicity can make you money Webinar summary 19.3.25 January 2025 MSKPN Data benchmarking ### MSKPN Webinar - The Budget Impact on your Business The Budget impact on your business The key budget changes that will impact your business from the 1st of April 2025 Changes to staff contracts What is the value of employment Freelance / Self employed alternatives How can we mitigate the impact of this cost increase Budget webinar 15.1.25 summary The Budget Impact on your business_Jan25 ### MSKPN Webinar: Review of the Year 2024 View the recording here: https://youtu.be/XbAFHdsZvaM ### MSKPN Webinar: PMI Workshop Macro overview of the PMI sector (incl class action) Key contacts at the PMIs (who to go to) Success stories and shared approach Revenue diversification (what leavers can I use / can I control) Key agenda items for BUPA / AXA meetings   View recording here https://youtu.be/qk2Sy66gHIE View notes here: PMI webinar summary nov 2024 ### MSKPN Webinar: AI & Automation View the recording here: https://youtu.be/iGbRsPuxEBk ### MSKPN Webinar: Growth Organic v Acquisitive Growth You can view recording here: https://youtu.be/VH25LvzKHHg   View documentation here: MSKPN Webinar_Organic v Acquisition ### MSKPN Webinar: with Farringford Legal   View recording here: https://youtu.be/XOoNsOxaf40   View slides : Slides SJ_MSKPN_110924   View QR code: MSKPN_QR     ### MSKPN Webinar: Quality update hosted by Lucy Goldby View recording here: https://youtu.be/qSh7nEb_Z2U View slides here:  MSKPN Quality July 2024-_Lucy Goldby 2   ### MSKPN Webinar: Paediatric MSK with Angela Jackson, KidsBack2Sport View recording here: https://youtu.be/OX-Kxo3IQPk Angela's website: https://kidsback2sport.com/ ### MSKPN Webinar: Student Placements Panel Discussion View recording here: https://youtu.be/gwZwkwKZuhk ### MSKPN Webinar: Recruitment & Retention with Penny Davis, Pure Sports Medicine View the recording here: https://youtu.be/bvo-_2F-7Nk View the PhysioFirst article here:  InTouch Winter 2023 ### MSKPN Webinar: Enhancing practice salability and value hosted by Josh Catlett, MD Verilo View the recording here: https://youtu.be/pDwHmiJmVSE View slides here:  Is Your Practice Saleable MSKPN2 Josh has shared some useful links below: Saleability calculator: https://verilo.co.uk/business-saleability-calculator/ Valuation calculator: https://verilo.co.uk/business-valuation-calculator/ Seller enquiry to book a free discovery call: https://verilo.co.uk/sell-my-business/#sellenquiry_section     ### MSKPN Webinar with Rehab My Patient See recording here: https://youtu.be/E6kXDDoRzRU See slides here:  MSKPN 20-3-24 ### MSKPN Webinar: The Entrepreneurs Mentor For this MSKPN member’s webinar, I'll be sharing some thoughts and tools that I use with my clients to help them identify what needs their focus and how to identify the High Pay Off Activities that consistently move you forward towards the business you desire, the business that delivers your why and your purpose. The content will include: A method to breakdown the journey The Business Model Canvas The Vision Orbit A One Page Plan The distractions log Feedback from previous delegates: “Hugely informative talk Mike, I definitely learnt a lot in a very short space of time!” "Lots of great tools and tips presented." "I loved how the things you shared created a thoughtful flow to help my planning." Join me for a thought provoking and practical webinar where I plan to give you ideas and tools to take away, use and implement the changes you want in your business. Mike Foster, The Entrepreneurs Mentor See link for webinar:   https://youtu.be/seUYj4x6tqc See slides here: Creating the High Pay Off Activities that builds the business you desire ### MSKPN Painless Practice Webinar The seven pillars to build a thriving practice Whether you are starting a new practice or wanting to develop your practice in a certain way, it is important that you step out of the day to day running of your practice, focus on the bigger picture and have a plan in place to start executing what needs to happen for your practice to be how you'd love it to be What the course covers: Join Celia for an online course where she will take you through the following: The seven key elements that need focus in your practice Getting crystal clear about your message Exploring the best marketing methods Creating an easy to implement marketing plan Managing your time, energy and money To view the recording click here:  https://youtu.be/eONarNLLMrE   ### MSKPN Cobweb Webinar You can view the recording here: https://youtu.be/sbfYjUfMOKo ### MSKPN Nookal Webinar   You can view the recording here:  https://youtu.be/ud4QKPJYKKM Here is the material that Nookal presented at the webinar Nookal Advantage - MSKPN (1) ### MSKPN Webinar with Cliniko https://youtu.be/808SFMg6qIw ### MSKPN Webinar with James Hallam Promed: Whose Liability, is it? Insurance simply explained Whose Liability, is it? Insurance simply explained. A presentation and discussion with ProMed James Hallam, a leading provider of insurance services to the Allied Health Care Sector.   https://youtu.be/xFp54PsPhy4 ### MSKPN Webinar: MSKPN response to BUPA, Ascenti and PMI Network     View recording here:  https://youtu.be/xL4cJT0ngO4 ### MSKPN Webinar: Exploring value in Physiotherapy On Wednesday 14th June, Nicola Graham and Eddie, from Six Physio, will be running a webinar titled "Exploring value in Physiotherapy". This will be an interactive webinar where we will use breakout rooms to allow for smaller group discussions on thoughts on this topic. We will propose questions about how we collectively view the role of physio in private practice and aim to understand and challenge our own beliefs and possible assumptions on why people come to physio, what value we provide and why people may stop treatment early. We are hoping that following this session, other consistent topic areas will be highlighted that we can use to inform future more practical sessions to develop tools that we can take back to, and implement within, our businesses.   Please click here for more information: MSKPN webinar 14 June 2023 View the recording here:  https://youtu.be/Y_aKZAmgLrg ### TM3 Webinar & Roundtable May/June 2023 Click here to find out more about our TM3 events: TM3 Webinar and roundtable May-June 23 Click here for the recording of the webinar on 24 May 2023 https://youtu.be/yIDNR9GIWsM ### MSKPN webinar Part 1 Dojo for business Part 2 Quality Standard Setting held on 10 May 2023 https://youtu.be/L4_i0GNz_TQ ### MSKPN PMI Workshop 21 March 2023 We will kick this off with a session on the Private Medical Insurers ‘PMI’, starting with some positive updates regarding BUPA and AXA Health and then moving into a Q&A forum to discuss current issues and to see what we can do to generate change or provide context. https://youtu.be/fHay2-RaZgY ### MSKPN Members Only Webinar This webinar will take a look back at the last year, giving a chance for us to congratulate ourselves for navigating such a difficult year. It will then reflect on the current macro-economics and societal changes that have impacted or will impact our people, our clients and our business as we plan 2023. Chaired by Joanne Mathews, Chief Executive/Founder TenHealth and MSKPN Board member, key questions to consider are: What are the opportunities moving forward? What are the risks, are these in our control and how do we mitigate them? What are our priorities? What do we need to be doing differently? There is a wealth of talent and experience across our membership and coming together will be an opportunity for us to consider the past year, talk about next year and to help MSKPN understand your requirements on how we can support you through 2023 and beyond. We look forward to seeing you on the 7 December, in the interim if you have any topics you want to discuss or feel should be on our agenda for 2023 please email enquires@mskpn.co.uk ### Webinar recording MSKPN members only Last in our series on Ownership models. A really interesting conversation full of fabulous insights with Peter Watson of First Contact Health. Peter has been involved in a number of highly successful ventures during a really interesting career. Here he talks about the various models used by Specsavers/ Vision Express Vets4Pets and his MSK venture First Contact Health. Well worth a listen when you have a moment! https://sixphysio.zoom.us/rec/share/SVSsAyd0Uls2jDc_jIMwvQ1nDI3t6HBjuxRWlPlGmSHP_amS-uoUQJT7lhvmnBo1.bBcZdX3EaHW0B4-a ### MSKPN Green “members only” webinar MSKPN Green “members only” webinar Green Webinar - Bringing the sustainability agenda to your practice Weds 19 October 2022 18:00-19:00 With climate change being at the forefront of people’s minds, this webinar will cover what you can do in your practice that fits with the sustainability agenda. Introduction (Aisling and The Green Physio) A brief overview of the science behind climate change What is Carbon Literacy Carbon Footprints, Greenhouse gases Sources of carbon, or 'carbon hotspots' in physiotherapy What we can do/strategies for change Skills for communicating about action on climate change Email enquiries@mskpn.co.uk to sign up to the event. Listen to the recording here: http://video1761500435.mp4 ### MSKPN Healthcode members only webinar MSKPN / Healthcode “members only” webinar Keep your cash flowing with Healthcode – the pros and cons  Weds 12 October 2022 18:00-19:00 This webinar will cover an introduction to Healthcode, their various products they offer and how to get set up in order to streamline your business. Presenting from Healthcode will be Sam Lawrence and Kingsley Hollis Agenda Healthcode Overview Invoice Clearing Service System Routes PPR individuals / Practice Registration ePractice VEDA Integrators Q&A To view the recording click here https://youtu.be/2VzlLrAhoxk Email enquiries@mskpn.co.uk to sign up to the event. ### MSKPN Cemplicity Webinar As part of our ongoing work on outcomes and quality, MSK PN have been working with Cemplicity https://www.cemplicity.com/ to create a bespoke package for MSK PN members. We are now looking to engage with members and establish expressions of interest in signing up for this service. Ahead of this session a detailed document will be sent to all members explaining more about the product and the costs. The webinar will provide further explanation of the product and how it is used in clinical practice but will primarily be an opportunity for members to ask questions and understand more about prices and what Cemplicity will deliver for the MSK PN network. View the recording here:  https://youtu.be/hGILimXlKXU ### MSKPN Quick Fix Clinic: Healthcode Q&A Monday 11 July 18:00 - 18:30 Please note we will be running a Quick Fix Clinic on Monday 11 July at 18:00, this session will be a short 30min Q&A about getting set up with Healthcode covering costs, how you set up your clinics and benefits i.e. what you get for the additional cost.   You can view the recording here: https://youtu.be/70XUFwueXqo ### MSKPN Quality Webinar Tuesday 26 April 18:00 - 19:00    Great opportunity to hear where everybody is at including an update on the various systems bits and a chance to bring any of your challenges and questions and put them to Matthew Carr and Matt Todman and others.....not one to miss   The recording can be found here:  https://youtu.be/IUmMyZf76Zo ### MSKPN – Leadership Mindset Weds 23 February at 18.00-19.00 What do we mean by developing a leadership mindset? Hosted by Rupert Crowfoot, Chief Executive, Sixphysio and MSKPN Board member Contributors: John Fletcher - Former Director of Rugby and Head of England’s Rugby performance pathway who is now immersed in all things leadership, developing teams, coaching and mentoring in high performance sport and the world of business Ash James - Physio with a background in elite sport who is Head of Clinical Education at Connect Health and has a real passion for all things Leadership. Eddie Smith - Head of MSK services at Six with real life experience of leading multi site clinic teams through the Pandemic and brimming with ideas and thoughts on the back of his MBA  About the session: This interactive webinar follows on from suggested topics by members and we have three excellent speakers who will share their experiences, thoughts and stories and answer any questions. Your mindset as a leader will directly impact your ability to Engage with others Navigate change successfully Perform effectively/ Get results The recording can be found here: https://youtu.be/EvjeqbT2uco Email enquiries@mskpn.co.uk to sign up to this member’s only event.   ### Quick Fix Clinic: Staff Vaccination Status   On Monday 24 January at 18.00 we discussed staff vaccinations. This is a confusing topic for most members, given only a handful are CQC registered and therefore have a legal obligation to ensure all staff are vaccinated.  Most companies are in the difficult position of wanting to mandate vaccination as is expected by the majority of patients but without the legal support to do so. Legal change: The Health and Social Care 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 (“Regulations”) were made on 6 January 2022. These apply to all providers of “regulated activities” - so any provider of health or social care services, whether in the NHS or in the independent sector. Change in practice: The Regulations require that all those who will have direct face-to-face patient contact with service users as part of CQC regulated activity are vaccinated against COVID-19 by 1 April 2022, unless exempt. This includes individuals working in non-clinical ancillary roles who enter areas which are utilised for the provision of a CQC-regulated activity as part of their role and who may have social contact with patients, but not directly involved in patient care (e.g. receptionists). There is a 12-week grace period before the enforcement of the mandatory vaccination requirement on 1 April 2022. This is intended to allow staff who have not yet been fully vaccinated to complete the course. Practically, this means that staff must have had their first dose of the vaccine by 3 February 2022, to ensure they can receive a complete course by 31 March 2022. At this stage booster vaccinations are not in scope but we expect there to be a further amendment on this in the future. Discussion points: Members shared their views, experiences on this topic, which included: Some members felt that while they weren’t CQC regulated, that their delivery of services was no different and therefore felt compelled to mandate vaccination as a condition of employment, notwithstanding the risk of legal challenge There was a general view that the majority of patients expect staff to be vaccinated in a clinical setting We discussed the practical steps of understanding the vaccine status of prospective staff through the recruitment process A number of members discussed the challenges of dealing with existing staff who are refusing the vaccine and the challenges both practical and legal with regards terminating employee contracts Timescales were discussed, in terms of following a consultation process, initial conversations need to be had this week ahead of the 3rd Feb deadline for the first vaccine It was noted that some businesses are advertising the fact that all staff are vaccinated, there were differing views around whether openly divulging the vaccine status of staff was the right thing to do or not. The recording can be found https://youtu.be/0Ci4mqZVKYg   https://youtu.be/0Ci4mqZVKYg ### MSKPN Quality Update: Results so far…and how these could influence your future Tues 7 December at 18.00-19.00 Led by Matthew Carr, Quality Lead, MSKPN Contributors – Matt Todman (Six Physio), Helen Preston (Preston Health), Claire Small and Simon Devane (Pure Sports Medicine) About the session: This interactive webinar will update member’s on MSKPN’s quality agenda. Results of our recommended quality standards will be presented where you will see the benefits they will bring to your clinic and to the wider profession. The common challenges of implementing this process will be discussed, with ideas and examples presented on how to navigate these. An update will also be provided on how the MSKPN quality recommendations are being used in a large scale NHS Digital evaluation to shape the future of MSK quality data collection. The current views of healthcare insurers on the value of consistent quality standards will also be reviewed with an opportunity for members to explore what this means to them.   Agenda • Welcome • Results So Far – MSKPN recommended quality data set • Learning from early data collection adopters – FAQ’s and ideas to address these • Position of insurers - quality data collection • National context (BestMSKhealth) and update on ICS bid adopting the MSKPN approach • Q&A’s • Close Email enquiries@mskpn.co.uk to sign up to the event. Here is the recording: https://youtu.be/0efJ7iKxe7A ### MSKPN Leadership Programme 2022   “When you unlock potential you unlock performance” I’m delighted to invite you to sign up to an innovative and unique leadership programme tailored for MSK professionals and leaders. We have asked members what sorts of things we could help with to grow their businesses and you told us you would like advice on managing people, leading teams and a whole range of commercial support aspects. We listened and acted - Whilst there are other leadership programmes out there, we have worked with leadership expert John Fletcher - former director of rugby and head of England’s Rugby performance pathway - to cover the challenges we all face and develop a course just for MSKPN members. Commercially and self-development focussed, it spans 4 full days sessions between January and May 2022. This leadership programme has been subsidised for MSKPN members and will be operated on a first come first served basis. If there is availability, we can accept non-members at the full rate. To express interest please contact enquiries@mskpn.co.uk   Hear from the MSK professionals on our Leadership course See video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuTh9ArPsss   Download the poster here Find out more about our workshops here   Not a member yet? Check out our “try before you buy” membership offer https://mskpn.co.uk/our-members/ ### Business Strategy and Team Engagement commercial session Weds 17 November at 18.00-19.00 Led by Joanne Mathews, Chief Executive/Founder TenHealth & Fitness and MSKPN Board member and Eddie Smith, Consultant Physiotherapist, Six Physio About the session: The idea for this session is borne out of the challenges faced last year. It takes a very positive approach to the ‘opportunities’ that Covid presented - the idea of not wasting a crisis. Most businesses were forced to change in some way, and to take the opportunity to reflect on the status quo. In many cases this led to restructuring or re-imagining the business which in turn impacted your teams in some form. We aim to show you that out of chaos, you have the capability to focus on key areas of your business which you can control and move forward positively. Objectives • Why sharing your strategy is important for engagement? • To create a common understanding of our challenges/ opportunities • Start the process of creating alignment across clinics • Sharing ownership that empowers clinic directors • Inform strategic planning stages Team Engagement A discussion on team engagement from the point of view of pre-pandemic approach v’s what’s different now, bringing in key outcomes from Eddie’s strategic section Email enquiries@mskpn.co.uk to sign up to the event. View the recording here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYXSo7RDO08   ### Workforce and Recruitment commercial session Thursday 28 October at 18.00-19.00 Led by Rupert Crowfoot, Chief Executive, Sixphysio and MSKPN Board member Another commercially focussed session which is a popular topic on our WhatsApp group, helping you turbo charge your businesses. Topics we will cover include: New Grad Pathway/ Apprenticeships Advanced Practitioners (Retention and Pathways) Recruitment - challenge for us all Sharing experiences and facilitated Q&A Email enquiries@mskpn.co.uk to sign up to the event. View the recording here: https://youtu.be/ZZhSoTs3etk ### Bupa Physio network call with members In the interests of transparency and collaboration we shared details around the various questions posed to BUPA and the responses solicited to date. See Q&A document BUPA Q&A G1B MSK PN - BUPA Physio Network Meeting Recording - YouTube ### Financial Planning/Cash Flow Members Call Financial Planning/Cash Flow Members Call 19 May 2021   This session covered   Introduction Moving from lock down to a graduated return to trading   Forecasting & Business Planning Forecasting principals (opening date / assumptions / certainty) Building on your existing model (critical review / change) What does your phased return look like Expected levels of demand / clinician utilisation Over what time period is your phased return (2,3,6,9 months)   Staff Costs (biggest cost) Assessing demand JRS Support (now – Jul and Aug – Oct) Salaries Contractor %   Property (2nd biggest cost) Rent (rent free / rent deferral / rent reduction / lease re-gear) Service charges (reductions / deferrals) Payment frequency (quarterly in advance / monthly in advance / monthly in arrears) Utilities (reductions / deferrals) Business Rates   Suppliers (3rd biggest cost) % reductions during lockdown Support for a phased return (e.g. IT / Practice Management Systems)   Q&A   This call wasn’t recorded ### Business Interruption Loan Scheme A session focused on the Business Interruption Loan Scheme and dealing with your bank, chaired by Rupert Crowfoot.   Business Interruption Insurance A Glimmer of Hope? - YouTube ### Members launch event The first “members only” call of MSKPN took place on Wednesday 13 January 2021 from 11:00 - 12:30.   Agenda Welcome and conflict of interest Member update – a chance to go around the table and share priorities, challenges, opportunities MSK PN position and primary objectives Engaging the PMIs; round table event on 4 March 2021 5. Date of next meeting 6. AOB This event was not recorded. ### Commercial session: Landlords Q&A Commercial session on 18 February 2021 covering Landlords, rates, grants, BBL, CBIL and the end of Furlough.   We are very mindful that the latest restrictions have had a significant impact on all our businesses revenue and that makes the next few months more challenging.   Combined with the effect of the end of the Rent Moratorium and Furlough (possibly?) and the start of payments for BBL and CBIL on top of a new set of Business Rates Bills - it feels like a perfect storm is brewing.   There has certainly been quite a lot of chatter on various forums so we thought it would be good to run a Q&A/ Discussion session focussing on these challenges   See recording here Landlords Rates Grants BBL & CBIL & the end of Furlough - A perfect storm - YouTube ### Private Medical Insurers roundtable Private Medical Insurers roundtable 4 March 2021   Time to Change the MSK pathway; what does good look like and how do we get there?   See recording Musculoskeletal Partner Network PMI Event - 4 March 2021 - YouTube ### Establishing a Musculoskeletal Quality Standard webinar Establishing a Musculoskeletal Quality Standard webinar 16 March 2021   Musculoskeletal Partners Network has produced an information document with recommendations for data collection and analysis on MSK Quality Standards.   To share the information contained within the publication with all interested MSK industry stakeholders we are hosting a free webinar, explaining the rationale for this work, the practicalities of completing data collection and the vision for MSK service provision for both patients, providers and commissioners.   The webinar is open to anyone with an interest in raising standards and improving quality in musculoskeletal care. The session will run from 6.30-7.30pm with significant time allocated to Q&A.   See recording here https://youtu.be/OSSOJDSckOA ### PMI Contract Renewal Q&A session Following a number of requests we will be hosting an hour long Q&A regarding the BUPA Contract Renewal for Members.   See recording here MSKPN BUPA Contract Renewal Q&A session - 22 02 21 - YouTube ### Bi monthly members call Bi-monthly members call 25 March 2021 on PMIs – Q&A and reflections   Agenda Overview of our approach. Update on progress. Poll results, including interpretation. Question - how to manage without PMI OR reduce price/costs? Financial planning Quality update-SD   See recording   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHyfFCEPb_I  ### The Musculoskeletal Quality Standard Project The Musculoskeletal Quality Standard Project update session 20 April 2021   Musculoskeletal Partners Network has produced an information document with recommendations for data collection and analysis on MSK Quality Standards and are engaging with various stakeholders, including a number of Practice Management Software Providers.   We realise that a number of people struggled to access the last webinar and so are hosting an update and review for all interested MSK industry stakeholders.   This is a free webinar that will review the work done to date but also discuss the ongoing work to help embed the proposed dataset within a number of the most commonly used Practice Management Systems and considerations around establishing a group data collection repository.   The webinar is open to anyone with an interest in raising standards and improving quality in musculoskeletal care. The session will run from 6.30-7.30pm with significant time allocated to Q&A.   See recording https://youtu.be/h7Ft0phaYoA ### Andrew Walton and Simon Devane had a podcast session with Jack Chew Podcast session where Andrew Walton and Simon Devane joined Jack Chew to Chew Over the MSK Partners Network. Topics covered: What it is What its plans are How we can raise standards together in MSK practice #141 - MSK-PN - Andrew Walton & Simon Devane - Chewing It Over - 26/04/21 | Facebook | Facebook ### Commercial Q&A session on acquisitions Commercial Q&A session on acquisitions on 12 May 2021 Topics covered: Why acquiring another business makes sense Why good practice is good business How being ‘acquisition’ or sale ready adds value Facilitated Q&A Sharing your experiences https://youtu.be/77j_5mij5HY ### Roundtable event - Software Platform Digital Roadmap with software providers Roundtable event - Software Platform Digital Roadmap with software providers We would like to invite you and have representation from TM3 at a roundtable discussion event on Thursday 13 May at 10:00. This event is to discuss the journey that the MSK sector and our members are on in terms of collecting PROMS / PREMS against a standardised, minimum data set that has been agreed by an industry wide working group, which we are now looking to operationalise. The ease of collection will be a big part of ensuring this journey is successful, we feel it’s critical to have engagement and representation from all key software platforms so that everyone is on the same page in terms of understanding the journey and the key requirements as we move forward. This is for Tier 1 members only ### Software Platform debrief with members following the roundtable https://youtu.be/_HLH3DqzBlA ### Commercial session with members Commercial members session on Share Schemes,  Contractor vs Employee models and Culture Following interest a few weeks ago on WhatsApp around the subjects of Share Schemes/ Contractor vs Employee models and Culture we're going to run another early evening session. Whilst we refine the agenda (given that's a broad range of subjects) please put 9th June 6pm in your diaries https://youtu.be/1_558cLmWZM ### Workforce commercial session with members Commercial session with members on workforce, recruitment, pay and incentive structures Another really interesting commercial session covering everything to do with workforce/ recruitment and pay and incentive structures. Some really great insights as ever on the whole topic including something a little different on FCP roles and Sports Therapists which should give us all pause for thought as we look into the future...enjoy https://youtu.be/vSADBqz-xR4