Community musculoskeletal providers in England can now apply for a share of £4.6 million to support local initiatives aimed at reducing waiting times and improving access to care.
The funding, announced by Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT), is available to commissioned community MSK teams where patients are waiting more than 18 weeks for appointments.
It is intended to help services deliver local improvements that reduce backlogs and enable patients to access treatment sooner.
The opportunity follows the national rollout of GIRFT's MSK Community Delivery Programme (CDP), which has shown promising results in reducing long waits for care.
Alongside the funding announcement, NHS England has published a new adult community MSK service specification, developed with GIRFT and NHS England's community services team.
The specification sets out the minimum standards expected of community MSK services to improve quality, reduce waiting times and deliver better outcomes for patients.
Sue Hayward-Giles, assistant director of practice and development at the CSP, said:
We welcome this funding to help support our members in MSK services to see more patients and tackle the rising demand that they are facing.
Community MSK providers have until 14 August to submit funding bids, with allocations expected to be confirmed in September.
For further information about the application process, email england.girftmsk@nhs.net
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