Kaleidoscope study shows success of Community Appointment Days

6 November 2024

The aim of Community Appointment Days (CADs) was to provide a different model of care that which aims to support patients in managing their conditions. It consisted of several hundred people from the routine physiotherapy waiting list being invited to an event at the local leisure centre.

On the day, patients could be assessed by an MSK clinician and also access a range of services from other organisations that were present. These included advice, health promotion, rehabilitation, and community and voluntary sector support.

Clear outcomes

Although the initial outcomes of the CADs were clear – a big reduction in the waiting list along with reduced average waiting list times – Kaleidoscope was asked to carry out an evidence review and evaluation of the programme using data collected by the service to date.

Kaleidoscope’s evaluation shows that the Community Appointment Days achieved:

• an increase in self-care, reducing the need for ongoing clinic visits
• a large increase in discharge to patient-initiated follow-up, showing that patients are taking charge of their long-term care
• positive feedback from both patients and staff, with praise for the expert advice, personalised care and collaborative environment that CADs offer.

Kate Cheema, part of Kaleidoscope Health and Care, said of the evaluation:

“It was a real joy bringing together all the varied strands of evidence that unequivocally showed the success of, and the learning that went with, the CAD approach in Sussex.

“The strong voice of service users and staff gave great insight into the factors that made the approach both effective and special. This, coupled with strong quantitative data, together helped to provide an holistic overview of the service, what worked well and where continuous improvement could be made.

“I hope that the insights and recommendations from our evaluation report will be helpful to the Sussex MSK team on their ongoing mission to deliver personalised, human-centred care.”

Comprehensive evaluation

Laura Finucane, Clinical Director at Sussex MSK Partnership, said of Kaleidscope’s work:

“It was a pleasure to work with Kate, who produced a comprehensive evaluation of the CAD. The CADs have attracted a lot of attention from many services and national bodies across the country (and internationally).

“This is an important piece of work that will inform how best to continue evolving and improving our own CAD service and will help support those wishing to consider it as a model of care in their localities.”

Sussex MSK Partnership is a joint venture between Here and Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.